


Play the Game

by ShadowMage



Series: A Multi-Faceted Singularity [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Errortale, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underlust, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Fontcest, Inktale Sans, Jamie - Freeform, M/M, Multi, Sans Needs A Hug, The Thought, Underfell Grillby, Underfell Papyrus, Underfell Sans, Underfell Sans needs a hug, Underlust Papyrus needs a hug, Underlust Sans needs a hug, Underswap Papyrus, Underswap Sans, the player - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2018-12-03 08:44:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11528691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowMage/pseuds/ShadowMage
Summary: AUs converge in a single timeline...the timeline of the player. What follows is a lot of japery, jukes and 'justified assault', as everyone begins to reveal and keep secrets...some of which are more hidden and sinister than others.





	1. Start Menu

**Author's Note:**

> This story is an idea I had for a graphic novel, but I wanted to get it out somewhere, so I thought here would be good. It's kind of a rough idea, and it doesn't really follow much of a canon plot, but I hope it's still fun to read. Also, I really don't know if I'm going to put smut in if characters get together, but if anyone who reads this wants me to, then I guess I could ;)
> 
> Also this chapter is really just meant to introduce all the characters and get the basic plot going, so it may not be top quality-tips for improvement are welcome!

Sans had a feeling that the day was going to be a funny one. It was like a slight tickle in his ribs as he rolled...literally _rolled_...out of bed. The sunlight was streaming in through a gap in the curtains. Sans trudged over to them and flung them open, letting the sunlight dazzle him.

He felt the warm glow sink into and wash over his ribcage, his skull. The sun was still coming up over the horizon, a warm peach-like glow sweeping over the trees: Sans and Papyrus had a house on the very edge of town, with a view of the forest. They'd grown so used to Snowdin forest that not being near trees seemed odd. Sans stood at the window, just taking in the view.

Frisk had struggled so hard to give him this view. Maybe it'd be appropriate to spend a minute just... _appreciating_...

That funny feeling...what was it? Sans hadn't had a feeling like this, or at least if he had he didn't remember. He didn't know what it could possibly mean, either.

' _whatcha tryin’a tell me, eh?_ ' He rubbed his ulna carelessly, gazing at the treetops. The leaves glinted gold in the rising sunlight. It was slightly concerning, but honestly, he had no idea what the feeling meant. Probably not worth worrying about. He  _was_ out of bed very early, especially for him...maybe it was that?

Actually, this was probably the time Papyrus got out of bed himself. Maybe Sans could surprise him by being up this early? Maybe he could make him breakfast?

Yes, he'd make him breakfast!

...

Okay, today really  _was_ going to be odd. Already Sans had effectively shattered every rule of his existence as a lazy, pun-toting sleepaholic. What next? Sans chuckled to himself. He walked over to his wardrobe, and opened the door. The door held a large mirror, which then prominently displayed Sans' early morning profile: A short, kinda chubby skeleton, with a rounded skull and a wide toothy grin, lights in his eyesockets, and, as Sans only just sleepily realised, with no clothes on. Sans smiled awkwardly at his reflection, before pulling on a dressing gown and closing the wardrobe. Being a skeleton didn't cause the same...'problems'...being naked as humans did, but it still caused Papyrus to flip out, sometimes literally, if Sans didn't put any clothes on when he woke up. ' _ **WHAT IF PEOPLE SEE YOU**_?!?!' he'd yell, loud enough to send flocks of birds flying away in shock.

Out of respect for the avian residents of the area, Sans decided to go downstairs with the skeleton version of his modesty covered.

~

Papyrus turned as Sans entered the kitchen. Sans smiled widely as Papyrus' eyesockets lit up.

'YOU'RE UP EARLY, SANS.' Sans chuckled.

'yeah bro, it's a surprise for me too.'

'INDEED. WELL, IT'S NICE TO SEE ANYWAY.'

'thanks, paps.'

'THERE'S SOME FRESH COFFEE IN THE POT, IF YOU WANT SOME. OH, AND THERE'S A LETTER FOR YOU IN THE POST.'

'thanks paps, i'll get those.'

Sans' smile went from jovial to warm and loving. It was these little moments: the little things like coffee or the offhand updates that his brother Papyrus made and did so often without realising it. Papyrus did so much for him and he didn't realise it. Sans felt his SOUL shine a little brighter as he shuffled over to the letters on the sideboard. There were two letters for Papyrus, a brochure, and the letter for himself. Sans picked up the letter and tucked it in the pocket of his dressing gown, before making his way over to the coffee pot and pouring himself a mug. The scent filled the space around his nasal bone. 

Coffee was nice.

Sans sat down at the table, sipped his coffee, and opened the letter. The paper was like that in a sketchbook: thick and parchment-like. The writing, while all lower case like Sans' handwriting, seemed to have been written with a paintbrush. The first question Sans wanted to ask was why, but then he started reading, and other questions took precedence.

**dear sans of undertale**

**i am writing to you because i believe you and your brother are in danger.**

**do not tell papyrus, as i am sure he would want to face this danger, but we do not yet know precisely what the danger is.**

**you need to go to the door in waterfall. i think you know the one i mean.**

**-ink**

Sans re-read the letter, before looking over to make sure Papyrus hadn't read it himself. Papyrus was busy gazing at the birds. Sans looked at the letter again, memorized it, and then 'accidentally' spilled his coffee over it. The ink and coffee mixed together in a surprisingly beautiful fashion, and the gleaming liquid trickled onto the floor, and the evidence had been destroyed. 

Sans spent the next ten minutes cleaning up the mess while Papyrus stood beside him insisting that Sans didn't need to, and bemoaning the destruction of the letter that he was sure Sans had been thoroughly enjoying. Sans smiled awkwardly and forced himself to stay calm. He didn't know who this 'ink' was, but the contents of the letter seemed genuine enough. 

But he'd honestly been hoping he'd never have to see that door again. 

~

Sans managed to convince Papyrus to go to Waterfall with him, saying that he was feeling a little homesick. It was rather odd to see, he reflected, as Papyrus carried him like a priceless glass vase through the streets of the town, and up the slope to Mt Ebott. People turned to stare at them, and Sans didn't blame them. But Payrus insisted 'IF YOU'RE SICK OR UPSET, THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL DO EVERYTHING TO HELP HIS OLDER BROTHER'. And Sans wasn't in the mood to argue with him, especially if it somewhat eased Papyrus' worrying.

The winding path back to Waterfall seemed tiny now, although that was probably because Sans dozed off in Papyrus' arms. However, he woke up the instant he felt the presence of the door approaching. 

'hey bro, we can stop here.'

Papyrus raised the equivalent of an eyebrow at him in confusion.

'BUT BROTHER, I THOUGHT YOU WERE HOMESICK. SURELY GOING BACK TO SNOWDIN IS THE BEST IDEA?'

Sans shook his skull. 'nah bro, i think this'll do.'

'ALRIGHT, IF YOU'RE SURE.'

Papyrus gently set Sans down on the cavern floor. Sans' spine shivered. There was the door, just cut into the wall. There was something about it that felt wrong. It was just a door in the wall, and yet it felt wrong. Looking at it made Sans want to lock it tight and barricade the passageway. It was ridiculous to be scared of a door...but really, it was what Sans felt. He took Papyrus' hand.

'BROTHER...?'

Sans just squeezed his phalanges. He took a step towards the door.

It swung open. 

'SANS...WHERE ARE WE GOING?'

Papyrus couldn't see the door, and Sans was glad of that. He guided the two of them over to the very edge of the door.

'SANS...?'

'sorry paps, let me just...'

Sans felt the energy coming from the door, from beyond the door. He gently guided it, eddy by eddy, over to Papyrus, into Papyrus. 

Something snapped. Papyrus blinked, and then stepped back.

'OH MY GOD...THAT WASN'T THERE BEFORE, SANS!'

'nah bro, it was, you just couldn't see it. come on, we're going through it.'

'...OK...I TRUST YOU...'

And so they stepped through.

~

At first, Sans thought he was dreaming. The world they'd stepped into was definitely not part of theirs, which he'd expected, but the setting was...nice. A small wooden lodge framed by the sun, which seemed to be setting behind it. A small path led from where they stood to the front door, and there was a small sign hanging on a post which read 'ink'. Definitely not what he'd been expecting, but ok. He began towards the lodge, Papyrus' hand still grasped firmly in his. 

'WHERE ARE WE, SANS?'

'i don't honestly know, bro, but it looks cool.'

'IT...DOES LOOK VERY NICE. BUT I WISH YOU'D TELL ME WHY WE'RE HERE. AND FOR THAT MATTER, WHY YOU DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT THAT DOOR!'

'eh...it's a long story. i'll tell you when we get home.'

The ground beneath them was covered by a rich carpet of grass, which rustled beneath them. Tiny drops of dew tickled their foot phalanges and slipped between their metatarsals. Papyrus giggled slightly. Despite the circumstances, Sans giggled a little too. He led Papyrus over to the front door, and gave it a small knock.

...

Sans knocked again.

...

'MAYBE NO-ONE'S HOME, SANS?'

And just as he said that ' **no, someone is home! hold on, i'm just busy! be right there**!'

He sounded a lot like Sans. As in, a  **lot** like Sans. So much so, Papyrus looked to be about to ask Sans if this was a prank before the door swung open.

A short, slightly chubby-looking skeleton with a wide grin like Sans stood in the doorway. Except this...this Sans...wore what looked like an artists' overalls, splattered with layers upon layers of paint, with a dark sash over his clothes, and a giant paintbrush slung over his back. It was such a big brush that it filled the doorway, which was big enough to fit Papyrus through, and Papyrus was almost double Sans' height. 

' **hi. sorry about that, i'd just begun shading something.** ' He looked at them more closely. ' **aha! undertale sans and undertale papyrus. good to see you made it here! please come on in.** ' He stood back from the doorway, inviting them in. Sans looked closely at him, but walked inside, Papyrus following with a confused look on his skull. 

'so...you're ink?' Undertale Sans asked, with a slight hint of suspicion.

' **yup. that's me.** ' Ink looked out of the door, scanned the area up and down, before closing it. He turned, and smiled at his guests. ' **i know the letter i sent you was a bit dramatic, so sorry about worrying you. but i did have a very good reason for bringing you here, which i'll explain once the others arrive.** '

'OTHERS? WHAT OTHERS?'

As soon as the words had left Papyrus' mouth, there was a bang on the door. 

' _OPEN UP IN THERE! THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS DEMANDS TO KNOW WHY YOU HAVE SUMMONED HIM AND HIS BROTHER!_ '

The expression that crossed over Ink's face seemed to be a cross between relief and dread. ' **that'll be underfell sans and papyrus. brace yourselves.** ' He got up and opened the door.

On the threshold were Sans and Papyrus, but...they looked wrong. Underfell Papyrus was tall, like Papyrus, and for skeletons, he was good-looking and had a good body. But this one had jagged cheekbones, and the teeth were pointed like a shark's. A long scar ran down his skull, covering his right eyesocket. His clothes were tight fitting, black, with a ragged cloak draped over his shoulders. He wore long red boots, with a dagger-like stiletto heel. Underfell Sans wore a thick, shiny coat. A rough, yellowing fur lining covered his neck, but the red turtleneck underneath could be seen. His shorts had a long red stripe on them. His legs were bare until his shoes, which were big and clunky; the kind of shoes that would hit you like a brick. 

' _well, boss, looks like we got doppelgangers. who'da thunked it?_ '

Underfell Sans had pointed teeth, too. One of them was golden. 

' _YES, IDIOT, I CAN SEE THAT. QUESTION IS, WHAT DO THEY WANT WITH US?_ '

Ink gave them a smile. Sans, meanwhile, gripped his magic tightly, ready to hurl it if ready. These guys looked both dangerous and paranoid; a bad combination. 

' **hello! i'm ink. i'm the one who wrote the letter. this here is undertale sans and undertale papyrus. please, come on in.** '

Sans didn't really want to have those two in the relatively small lodge with him and his brother, but he also didn't want to aggravate either of them. He stepped back to give them some room, and Underfell Sans stepped in to take it.

' _EXCUSE ME, BUT WHO'S THE BOSS HERE?'_

Underfell Sans tensed. ' _sorry boss, you are. here, the space is yours.'_

' _GOOD.'_

Sans and Papyrus shared a look. Boss? Calling your own brother boss? That wasn't something that either of them really liked to see. Not to mention, ordering your own brother around like that. 

Ink, however, seemed not to mind. He smiled wider seeing them all, but then seemed to realise that there was a lack of space. ' **oh right, sorry! here!** '

All the Sanses and Papyruses stared at him as he took a small brush out of his pocket, and waved it through the air. A shimmering trail appeared behind his brush, and hung suspended in mid-air. The outline of a chair formed as Ink sketched the shape in mid-air, and then he clicked his phalanges. A chair burst out of the outline in a burst of light, and settled down behind Papyrus. Three more clicks, and three more chairs formed. Ink then slashed the brush down, dispelling the outline, and settled himself on the floor.

For a moment, there was a stunned silence. Then Papyrus said 'THAT WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE! I CAN'T DO THINGS LIKE THAT!'

Ink blushed, or at least his skull flushed with a rich inky darkness. ' **heh, thanks.** '

Underfell Papyrus didn't seem satisfied, though. ' _YOU CAN DO SOME COOL TRICKS. BIG DEAL. I WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU'VE BROUGHT US HERE.'_

Ink smiled guiltily. ' **sorry, but i want to wait until everyone's here to do that.** '

' _how many more are coming?'_ Underfell Sans asked, an impatient growl in his voice.

Ink was about to answer when light blasted through the windows. Ink leapt up, yanking the door open and dashing outside, Underfell Papyrus close behind. Several glowing red femurs materialised in mid air, each tipped with a deadly looking point. Even the magic of the Underfell skeletons was dangerous.

Underfell Sans, and Undertale Sans and Papyrus all hurried to the window.

Four new skeletons had arrived: two more Sanses and two more Papyruses. One pair looked like Undertale Sans and Papyrus, but swapped: their Sans was wearing the superhero-esque attire, with a light blue cloak around his neck, and starry eyes. The Papyrus wore a long orange hoodie that seemed baggy, but comfortable. There was a cigarette dangling out the corner of his mouth. The other pair looked...decidedly different. Both wore tight black leather, the Sans had his ribcage exposed, with a pink jacket that had a neon blue fur lining. The Papyrus had his ribcage exposed too, and both held themselves in a more slouching way. The Papyrus in black was looking hard at the Papyrus in the hoodie, who had seemingly just tried to blast him with the long animal-like skull blaster that hovered over his head. Ink was talking to them, and eventually the two Papyruses shook hands. Just like that, all the tension of the scene evaporated, and the six of them made their way to the lodge. 

Sans was about to ask how the hell hey were going to fit anyone else inside, when Ink stuck his head round the door and said ' **right, could you all come outside please?** '

By the time the three of them had made their way into the sunset, Ink had already conjoured a circle of chairs, and waved for the three to seat themselves down. Underfell Sans set next to Underfell Papyrus, and Undertale Sans and Papyrus sat next to each other.

' **right! well, now everyone's here, i can introduce everyone!** ' Ink gestured towards Undertale Sans and Papyrus. ' **this is undertale** ,' he moved onto Underfell Sans and Papyrus, ' **underfell** ,'. Next he gestured at the pair who wore the black leather ' **underlust** ', and ignoring the disgusted noise Underfell Papyrus made, he moved onto the last pair ' **underswap.** ' Everyone greeted each other, except for Underfell, who both huffed and folded their arms. 

' **and now, i'd better tell you what's going on, and why i brought you all here.** '

' _FINALLY!'_

Ink ignored Underfell Papyrus, and cleared his 'throat'.

' **i'm sure that we all know about the timeline, yes?** '

The Sanses all nodded, as well as the Underswap Papyrus, while the other Papyruses looked confused.

' **and that there are people who can, and ways to, mess around with the timeline?** '

The same groups gave the same reactions.

' **and that there are multiple timelines out there?** '

Same response.

' **well...timelines are being destroyed.** '

There was a moment of silence. 

'whaddaya mean, destroyed?' Undertale Sans' grin was still on his face, but it was fixed. A mask. 

' **i mean they're being destroyed. wiped away. erased.** '

' _so what are we meant to do? gang up, hold hands, sing kumbaya and stop it happenin to us?'_

Ink chuckled at Underfell Sans' sarcasm.

' **in a sense, yeah. i wanted to at least let you guys all know, and if we do end up teaming up together against whatever it is, then we'll be able to.** '

Underfell Sans' smirk twisted slightly. Undertale Sans got the impression that he didn't like working in a team. He looked about to say something, but then Underswap Sans piped up.

' **well then, we should give each other nicknames so we all know we're friends!'**

Underfell Sans slowly turned to Underswap Sans. The look on his face would've sent a shiver down Undertale Sans' spine, but Underswap Sans didn't seem to even notice. Ink, on the other hand, nodded thoughtfully at the idea.

' **ok. so...what would they be?** '

' _wait, are you seriously going to do what this KID says?'_

' **why not? i mean, it'll avoid confusion at any rate.** ' Ink thought for a moment. Finally, he pointed at Underfell Sans. ' **your attitude earns you the name: EDGE!'**

There was a pause. Then Underfell Papyrus let out a barking laugh that made everyone jump.

' _HAHAHAHA! OH, YES, THAT'S PERFECT! DON'T YOU THINK IT'S PERFECT, EDGE?'_

Sans swore he saw a puff of smoke come of out Edge's nostril, but he reluctantly sighed and said ' _yeah, boss. it's perfect.'_

Ink grinned. ' **ok, so in that case, you can be boss. i mean, you're already called that.** '

Underfell Papyrus swelled. ' _BOSS, EH? I LIKE THE IDEA OF YOU ALL CALLING ME THAT. YES, I LIKE THAT.'_

Edge rolled his eyelights. Boss shot him a look, but said nothing.

' **so...underswap sans, how does blueberry sound to you?** '

The smaller Sans' eyelights glowed brighter and began to twinkle. ' **i love it! it sounds great!** '

Ink chuckled. Sans found himself agreeing with him-the little one was rather adorable. Blueberry suited him well.

' **underswap papyrus?** '

The taller Papyrus shrugged. ' **I MEAN, IF WE'RE GOING TO BE NAMED AFTER FRUIT, HOW ABOUT CARROT?** '

Boss and Edge both snorted, but Ink waved their snorts aside. ' **yeah, that suits the theme nicely!** ' Carrot smiled.

**'underlust sans?'**

'oh, just lust is fine with me.' The erotic skeleton said, shooting a wink in Sans' direction. Sans swallowed a shudder and smiled awkwardly back.

' **well then, underlust papyrus?'**

'HMMMMM...HOW ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE POLE? ~~~~'

Lust looked at him, smiling. 'suits you perfectly.'

Ink blinked a few times before turning to Sans and Papyrus. ' **how about you two?** '

Sans shrugged. 'i'm fine with you calling me sans, but if i need a nickname how about blue?'

'OH YES! THEN I'LL BE ORANGE!'

Ink nodded. ' **those both sound good to me. well then, i think that's all good.'** Ink clapped his hands together. At that moment, on the grassy meadow around the house, four doors appeared. A blue one, a red one, an orange one and a pink one. ' **we all know each other now. if i need to bring you here i'll send you another letter**.'

'so, what, we just go home? that's it?'

Ink pondered for a moment.

' **well ok-the doors in waterfall will always lead here if you want to meet up or stuff. but...yeah, i'll let you know if i need you urgently.** '

Sans raised an 'eyebrow', but said nothing more. It wasn't too bad, he figured, having a much less threatening presence behind the door, and at least now he and Papyrus could get away from Edge and Boss. They thanked Ink for the information, said their goodbyes, and finally left for their own world.

~

'SANS...'

Sans turned. 'yeah bro?'

Papyrus fiddled with his cape. He looked both nervous and concerned.

'EDGE...HE AND BOSS...THEY DON'T SEEM TO GET ALONG...'

'unfortunately not, bro.'

'WHY NOT?' Papyrus looked like a child lost in the woods. 'THEY'RE BROTHERS. THEY SHOULD LOVE EACH OTHER. IT'S...IT'S NOT RIGHT IF THEY DON'T...'

Sans looked down at the cavern floor. He did agree...he and Papyrus had had falling outs before, all siblings did, but they'd always made up. They'd always known that in the end, they would love each other. He couldn't imagine what Edge was going through...for how long he'd been going through it. 

They hadn't even spoken to them...to him. Papyrus seemed to be thinking the same thing.

'CAN...CAN WE COME BACK SOON? CAN WE TALK TO THEM?'

Sans grinned. His brother's desire to help never stopped impressing him. 'sure thing bro. we'll come back tomorrow.'

Papyrus lit up. 'REALLY?! WOWIE! OK, I NEED TO GET THEM SOMETHING THEN!'

Sans chuckled as the two of them headed back to their house on the Surface, half-listening to Papyrus going on about what a good gift would be. Edge and Boss definitely needed some talking to. He'd make sure they got it.


	2. Tutorial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so massive introduction chapter is done, now we can get more into the individual fluff and angst of these dorks. WOO! Also, thanks to those of you who left kudos on the last chapter, I don't know why you did, but Imma run with it. :)
> 
> Trigger warning: references to suicidal thoughts and self-harm.

_Edge huddled in the corner of his room, watching the trash tornado. It had a lot of broken bottles in it, sharp fragments of glass whirling round and round. He spent a second wondering how much it'd hurt if he walked into it, before putting the thought aside. Hurting himself hadn't achieved anything before, why should it now?_

_The room kept sliding in and out of focus. He wasn't sure if it was because he was drunk, or if he was crying. It was probably because he was drunk. He had drunken a lot tonight, and he wasn't entirely sure why._

_In the haze of his mind, he had a vague idea of seeing a Papyrus who wasn't beating up his brother, and jealousy. He'd probably been drinking to blot that out, and had just gone too far._

_'SANS! WHERE HAVE YOU HIDDEN YOURSELF THIS TIME, YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING SLOB!'_

_Boss was home. Edge had been hoping to have a few moments to himself, but that wasn't going to happen. Privacy wasn't something he got much of._

_'c-comin' bossh.'_

_Shit. Boss'd know he'd been drinking._

_Eh, what the hell. He was probably going to get beaten up anyway. What did making him a bit more angry matter?_

_Edge groped along the wall until his phalanges found the bed. He pulled himself up, wobbling slightly, and eventually managed to stand. He made to turn before the door burst open._

_'SANS! IT STINKS IN HERE! AND...' Boss peered closer. 'YOU'VE BEEN DRINKING AGAIN?'_

_'y-yeah, bossh. jusht a little.'_

_'A LITTLE? I COUNT SIX BOTTLES!'_

_'shishx? really?'_

_'YES, SANS, I COUNT 'SHISHX'.'. Boss sneered at him. Edge was too drunk to really care. He just wanted the beating to get over and done with._

_But it didn't come. Instead of lunging at him or summoning a jagged femur, Boss looked pensive._

_After a minute or two, he spoke._

_'SANS...WE NEED TO WATCH THOSE OTHERS.'_

_Edge looked at him, slightly confused. 'how...how d'ya mean, boss?'_

_Boss flashed him a look. 'I MEAN, YOU IDIOT, THAT WE NEED TO BE ON OUR GUARD AROUND THEM. ALL THEIR 'NICENESS' MUST BE A PLOY.'_

_Edge sighed slightly. Boss raised an 'eyebrow.'_

_'ARE YOU REFUSING ME?'_

_Edge shook his skull, and instantly regretted it. After clutching his temples and hissing for a few seconds, he raised his skull to look at Boss. 'nah bossh, i don't think you're wrong. i'll alwaysh follow your ordersh.'_

_He didn't really want to, but it wasn't like he had much of a choice. Boss shot him a wicked smile._

_'INDEED. I AM THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE BO-I MEAN PAPYRUS, A-AFTER ALL, AND WE WILL SUCCEED.'_

_Edge would have made a joke out of his slip up if he had been in better shape._

_'WATCH THEM, SANS. WE WILL RESIST THEIR PLAN, AND WE WILL WAIT FOR THE PERFECT TIME TO STRIKE.'_

~

'so, this is what you're getting them?'

Sans looked quizzically at the items Papyrus held. Papyrus, however, beamed at the gifts he'd chosen.

'YES! DON'T YOU THINK THEY'RE PERFECT!?'

There was a brand new, ruby-red cloak with a label reading 'TO BOSS, FROM YOUR FRIEND PAPYRUS. I NOTICED YOUR CLOAK WAS IN NEED OF REPAIR, SO I TOHUGHT THIS MIGHT MAKE YOU HAPPY.' and what Papyrus called a 'NECK GUARD' with spikes protruding from it with a label reading 'TO EDGE, FROM YOUR FRIEND PAPYRUS. I DO NOT WANT YOU TO BE HURT, SO THIS WILL PROTECT YOUR FRAGILE SPINE AND SKULL.' Sans knew very well that the 'neck guard' was a collar, but the look on Papyrus' face crushed his objection. He had been searching shop after shop for hours yesterday, anyway, and these actually weren't terrible presents. Sans shrugged.

'they are pretty neat, bro. you want to wrap them up, or...?'

Papyrus shook his head. 'I THOUGHT OF THAT, BUT THEY SEEM PRETTY WARY, SO I THOUGHT MAYBE I SHOULDN'T GIVE THEM A SECRETIVE THING IN CASE THEY GET WORRIED.'

Sans personally agreed, although if he'd been the one with gifts he wouldn't have written a label. They said their goodbyes and left for Mt. Ebott.

~

Ink greeted them as they arrived in his meadow. Papyrus waved a greeting back, and told Ink of their plan. Ink grinned.

' **that sounds like an awesome thing to do, orange! i bet they'll be real happy!'**

'I HOPE SO!' Papyrus called back. He didn't see the look that Ink gave Sans, or the look Sans returned. He didn't see Ink mouthing 'be careful' as he opened the red door.

Beyond, the cavern of Waterfall looked very different.

Instead of the softly glowing columns, the crystals here gave a low, eerie red glow, and grew in jagged clumps. The water itself looked like it had been turned to blood. Papyrus hesitated for a second before letting out a breath, and continuing on, Sans just behind him.

Thankfully, there seemed to be no-one on the main path to Snowdin, and the journey there was relatively uneventful. However, as the pair passed through, they heard whispers and hissing from the dark alleyways. It was Snowdin, the quiet little village they'd lived in for most of their life, but it was dark, it was shaded, it was dangerous. Sans picked up his pace as they neared the house. It looked almost identical to their house in their Snowdin, but the roof-paint was a different colour, and the Gyftmas lights flickered so much they gave Sans a skull-ache. Papyrus, brave as ever, marched up and knocked smartly on the door.

There was silence.

Papyrus knocked again.

There was a muffled ' _FUCK OFF!'_ from inside, and then silence.

Papyrus flinched a little at the language, but knocked again, calling out 'HELLO! IT'S ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND MY BROTHER SANS! WE'VE COME TO VISIT YOU!'

The silence this time was shorter, before Boss said, muffled by the door, ' _WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE?'_

'WE'VE COME TO SAY HELLO! ISN'T THAT WHAT FRIENDS DO?'

There was the sound of footsteps, and then the door swung open. Boss stood, framed by the light in the house, his silhouette spiked like his personality. 

' _WE ARE NOT FRIENDS, AND YOU'VE SAID HELLO, SO NOW YOU CAN-'_

He stopped when he saw Papyrus' face. The words seemed to die in his throat. He sighed.

' _FINE. COME ON IN. DON'T EXPECT ME TO MAKE YOU DINNER.'_

Papyrus beamed, and stepped gracefully inside. Sans followed quickly after, glancing at Boss' face. His expression was akin to letting a dirty dog inside a house that had just been cleaned. Boss slammed the door shut after them, and turned smartly to them.

' _SO...WHY ARE YOU HERE?'_

Papyrus beamed again, and held out the red cloak. Boss looked at it, at Papyrus, and back to the cloak.

'WE THOUGHT WE WOULD GIVE YOU A GIFT! TO SHOW THAT WE'RE FRIENDS!'

The expression on Boss' face changed. Sans couldn't tell if it was shock, humour, anger, gratitude or just plain confusion, but then Boss let out a chilling cackle.

' _OH! I SEE HOW IT IS! YOU LURE US IN WITH GIFTS AND THEN STRIKE WHILE WE ARE VULNERABLE! CLEVER!'_

Papyrus shook his skull. 'N-NO, THAT ISN'T-'

Boss stamped his foot. The sharp clack of the stiletto heel silenced Papyrus. He stormed over to Papyrus, leaning in close, until they were almost nasal bone to nasal bone.

' _YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FOOL ME, ALRIGHT?_ '

Out of confusion more than anything, Papyrus nodded. Boss stepped back, looking up at the landing.

' _SANS! COME DOWN HERE!'_

Sans had a suspicion that he'd deliberately called Edge by his real name to prove his point about not being friends, and was tempted to comment on it, but the thought vanished when he looked up at the landing and saw Edge.

Edge had taken his coat off, and his turtleneck was covered by holes and rips. His ribs showed through a particularly large one. Down his front was a large stain, and Sans couldn't tell what had caused it. The way he was walking, holding onto the banister with every step, showed he was definitely drunk. Papyrus' eyesockets widened, his eyelights shrinking. Before Sans could stop him, Papyrus had leapt up and swept Edge into an embrace.

'OH MY! YOU LOOK TERRIBLE! COME ON, YOU'RE GOING TO BE CLEANED!'

Boss stood as still as a statue as Papyrus carried Edge back up the stairs, into Boss' room, and through it, into the bathroom. 

The silence was broken only by the sound of running water, and Edge's slurred protests. Papyrus, however, had all of his mental faculties at his disposal, and so Edge had no chance of escaping him.

'RIGHT! NOW, INTO THE BATH WITH YOU!'

' _i don' wanna...'_

'EDGE, YOU LOOK LIKE YOU JUST CAME OUT OF THE RUBBISH DUMP! AS A FRIEND, IT IS MY DUTY TO OVERSEE YOUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING, AND RIGHT NOW, BOTH ARE AT RISK! GET! IN! THE! BATH!'

And that was that.

In less than five minutes Papyrus had taken over the house. Neither Boss nor Sans could think of something to say, and Boss seemed too shocked to go upstairs, so in the end they just took a seat and waited.

After half an hour of relative silence, Papyrus and Edge emerged. Edge was wrapped in Papyrus' scarf, and Sans had to admit, he looked much better than before. As soon as Papyrus had seen Edge to his room, Boss swept over to him, fire in his eyesockets.

' _WHAT. THE. HELL. DO. YOU. THINK. YOU'RE. DOING?!'_

Papyrus looked at him, oblivious to Boss' anger. 'I'M MAKING SURE YOUR BROTHER FEELS BETTER. I KNOW THAT WHEN MY BROTHER GETS DRUNK, A HOT BATH MAKES HIM FEEL BETTER. I SEE NO REASON WHY BEING CLEAN AND WARM WOULD DO YOUR BROTHER ANY HARM.'

Boss opened his mouth, but no withering retort came to mind. As far as Sans could see, he was finding it difficult to not only argue with a version of himself, but to lose an argument with a version of himself. Finally, Boss hissed ' _I WANT THE TWO OF YOU OUT OF MY HOUSE BY THE TIME I COME OUT OF MY ROOM.'_ and stormed away, slamming his bedroom door behind him.

Sans and Papyrus looked at each other. Sans decided that that definitely could have gone worse. He got up, and headed for the door, but he turned back at the sound of Papyrus moving furniture.

'paps? whatcha doin'?'

Papyrus had moved the coffee table into the centre of the living room. Sans could now see he was laying the gifts on it, neatly placed side by side. Of course Papyrus would still leave presents for possibly the most ungrateful, sadistic skeletons he'd ever met. Sans would wager that the thought of keeping them never crossed Papyrus' mind.

'c'mon bro. i think we've overstayed our welcome.'

Papyrus hurried over, nodding that he was ready to go. With one last look around, the pair left.

~

_That night, all Edge could do was cry._

_He wasn't crying because he had been beaten. That was a physical pain, a pain he could endure._

_He was crying because Papyrus had cared about him more than his own brother. His own little brother._

_Edge looked at the photograph again._

_Two skeletons, one tiny, with a huge toothy grin, was laughing happily up at the bigger skeleton, who held him gently but firmly in his arms. Protecting his little brother._

_Edge held the photo close to his ribcage, and let another wave of sobs overcome him._

_Hehatedthishehatedthishehatedthishehatedthishehatedthishehatedthishehatedthishehatedthis'ihatethisihatethisithatethisihatethisihatethisihatethisihatethis...'_

_It was nearly two hours later when Edge finally cried himself to sleep, too tired to do anything else._


	3. Grunts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I'm already amazed at the reaction this story has had. Everyone reading this is awesome <3
> 
> I know the last chapter was quite angsty, so I think I'll ease off a little...or not. Depends on how you take this chapter. It will help to develop them though. That I can almost promise.

_Normally, Papyrus wouldn't have cared that much if Sans was gone in the morning. Normally, he'd have left a note saying something like 'boss, gone to patrol'. This time, however, there was no note. There was a coffee table in the middle of the living room, and on it was the cloak that Orange had left. It irked him that he had the nerve to leave it, but the longer he considered it, it really was just a cloak._

_A cloak that Orange had bought him._

_He hadn't needed to, but he had._

_Papyrus shook himself. All this talk of being 'friends' was pointless. The only people he could trust was himself, and despite his flaws, Sans._

_And Sans had vanished without a trace._

_Papyrus hesitated for a moment, then pulled his cloak on and swept outside._

~

_Edge sat at his post. His fingers gently caressed the collar._

_Part of him still chuckled at how Orange had thought this collar was somehow protective, but he supposed the long spikes had kinda convinced him. And, for a collar, it was pretty nice: a deep red colour, with long golden spikes, and a golden buckle. Edge didn't know how much it had cost, and automatically assumed it was dirt cheap, but he still felt conflicted about it. He'd just stopped short of ripping the thing apart to check for explosives, valves or trackers, and he'd found nothing._

_It really was just a normal spiked collar. And it had been given to him by Orange, a veritable stranger, for the simple reason that he wanted to._

_His skull still pounded from the alcohol, but he couldn't wipe the memory of Orange gently carrying him back upstairs, or running a bath that was just the right temperature, or wrapping him up in his own cape because there were no towels in the house._

_Speaking of which..._

_Edge adjusted the cape, which sat around his neck. It felt tough, yet somehow soft. It was the kind of object that had been through a lot, but had still been cared for._

_And there were the tears again, prickling at the corners of his eyesockets. His ribcage felt hollow, and he fought an urge to rip the cape off and ram it between his ribs. He reached up and wiped his eyesockets. No use crying. Besides, out here, they'd probably just freeze on his cheekbones, and he'd have to spend ten minutes chiseling them off. Edge really wasn't in the mood to do that._

_After a few more minutes of caressing the collar, Edge unclipped the sides, and slipped it around his neck._

_~_

 'DO YOU THINK THEY LIKED THE PRESENTS?'

Sans looked up from his word scramble, and furrowed his browbone.

'i honestly couldn't say, bro.' He winked. 'though, if they know who they're dealin with, i'm sure they'll be overjoyed.'

'HOPEFULLY!' Papyrus grinned.

There was a slithering noise, and a letter fell through the letterbox.

There was a pause. 

Sans waved a hand, surrounding the letter with his magic, and pulling it towards him. He seized it, and hastily ripped it open.

**'there's been a development. please come asap.'**

**-ink**

'INK?' Papyrus looked worried.

'afraid so. c'mon, we better go.'

Sans pulled on his hoodie, and Papyrus opened the door. Sans stepped outside, Papyrus following him. Sans took hold of Papyrus' hand, and focused on the door.

=/=

Papyrus swayed slightly, and Sans stepped forwards to catch him, but Papyrus shook his skull.

'SORRY SANS, I'M STILL NOT USED TO YOU TELEPORTING YET.'

Sans chuckled nervously. The first time he'd teleported with Papyrus, he'd almost been sick. Suddenly going from one place to another with no movement between them could leave one feeling very nauseous. As a result, it wasn't something they did unless the situation was urgent.

Turning to the door, Sans turned the handle, and stepped out onto Ink's meadow. 

Carrot and Blueberry had already arrived. They sat on the grass outside Ink's lodge, and Blueberry waved excitedly at them when he spotted them. Sans and Papyrus both returned the wave, and made their way over.

  **'hi! we got here a little while ago! i think ink's away delivering the letter to underlust!'**

**'HE'S SAVING UNDERFELL FOR LAST. CAN'T SAY I BLAME HIM EITHER.'**

Sans chuckled. He couldn't blame Ink either. 

'WELL, WHILE WE'RE HERE, I GUESS WE OUGHT TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER.'

Blueberry sparkled.

 **'oh yes! well, i am the magnificent sans, or blueberry!'** Sans smiled. It was actually really adorable, to see his brother's personality in his body. Blueberry reminded him of a marshmallow with a blue cape.

**'AND I'M PAPYRUS, OR CARROT. I'M A LAZY SLOB WHO'S ONLY REALLY HERE 'CAUSE INK SAID HE HAD HONEY.'**

'HONEY? WHY HONEY?'

** 'my brother really, really, REALLY, likes honey.' **

'fair point. kinda sounds like me with ketchup.'

** 'WATCHA DO, PUT IT ON EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE?' **

'yup. sometimes i just drink it out the bottle.'

** 'AH, WELL, NOW YOU'RE SPEAKING MY KINDA LANGUAGE, BOTTLE BROTHER.' **

Sans and Carrot both chuckled heartily, while Papyrus and Blueberry both shared an almost identical look of disgust. Then the two turned to each other and said, in complete synchronisation: 'My brother is such a lazybones.'

There was complete silence.

And then the four of them burst out laughing. 

'oh, bro, that just takes the cake!'

' **YEAH, THAT WAS PRETTY SWEET!'**

And the two were off on the pun train, and nothing Papyrus or Blueberry could say could stop them.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////10 minutes later//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

'you don't need to say those honeyed words to me, carrot!'

'SANS, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE STOP.'

' **oh, hi there!'**

Everyone turned, Carrot pausing halfway ready to deliver a hilarious comeback. Ink stood outside the door to Underlust, Lust and Pole close behind. Both looked concerned.

'INK CAME TO GET US PERSONALLY. IS EVERYTHING OKAY?'

Sans shrugged. 'we dunno pole, we got here a little while ago.'

Ink fiddled with his overall. ' **underfell should have been here first. i left them their message before anyone else.** '

The group all shared a worried look. If for some reason Edge and Boss decided they wouldn't attend, then they would be down two potential allies.

' **i hate to say this, but i think we need to go get them before we can address anything else.'**

'is it that serious?'

' **afraid so. to give you guys the lowdown, another timeline has been destroyed, but this time i had another source analyse it. he found that the destruction was caused by code.'**

Sans furrowed his browbone. 'you mean, like, computer code?'

Ink nodded, his face grave. ' **yeah. there was a clause in the code that stated that if a certain chain of events occured, then the world would be terminated.'**

The group gave a collective expression of shock and disbelief.

'so what do you want us to do? did this source give you any intel on how to stop it happening to us?'

Ink shook his skull. ' **the events were encrypted. all we know is that a specific chain of events is needed, but we don't know what those events are.'** Ink perked up ' **but we do know how to trace the code back to the original user. i think if we find and trace the code of undertale, we can find out who's using it.'**

'why...why us? why undertale?'

' **you guys are the stem timeline. the rest of us come from your timeline, so you'll have the original code.'**

'I DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND, BUT OK. BUT WHY DO WE NEED EDGE AND BOSS?'

Ink sighed.

' **i don't know who the user is. i think we'll need all the available people we can get, if nothing else so we can be as safe as possible.'**

That did sound sensible to Sans. If he was going off to potentially face an unknown foe with the power to end worlds, he'd want to be as prepared as possible.

' **everyone agreed and ready to go get edge and boss?'**

The group agreed. Ink grinned, and then flung open the door to Underfell.

~

 'wow. this place is definitely not getting a 'friendly' rating on monstagram.'

The group laughed. Being able to laugh together itself made this place feel a little better.

' **you're right lust. actually, what rating would you give it?'**

'probably 'edgy'.'

'heh. y'know, i might agree with you there, lust.'

'PERSONALLY I THINK IT COULD DO WITH SOME MORE HUGS!'

** 'oh yes! and maybe a good game of tag?' **

'WELL...A GOOD HUG EVERY NOW AND THEN CAN DO WONDERS.'

**'have you guys been here?'**

'only once, and we didn't stay that long. i mean, can ya really blame us?'

' **no, i understand. but why'd you come?'**

'paps got edge and boss a present each to say hello.'

**'oh of course! i remember now-you got boss a new cloak and edge a...'neck guard', right?'**

'YES! THAT IS CORRECT!'

The others perked up, interested.

'how'd they take it?'

'eh...could've gone better, could've gone worse. DEFINITELY could've gone worse.'

Papyrus twiddled his thumbs. For the first time, Sans remembered that Papyrus had left his cape with Edge. He wasn't the only one.

'erm...orange?'

'Y-YES?'

'didn't you have a cape before?'

'O-OH YES, I DID! WELL...I LEFT IT WITH EDGE WHEN WE CAME HERE.'

'well, we're going there now, so you can get it back.' Sans smiled, trying to mask his feeling of apprehension.

They were within sight of Snowdin now. The group fell silent as they entered, all except for Blueberry, who waved and said ' **hi!'** to every monster they passed. Sans caught a few looks of shock, anger and disgust, but said nothing. 

As they got closer to the house, they heard Boss' raised voice. 

' _VANISHING OFF LIKE THAT! YOU THINK I'M SOME KIND OF CHARITY WORKER?! UNGRATEFUL PILE OF SHIT!'_

Everyone looked at each other. Something twisted in their 'guts'.

Hurriedly, Ink stepped forwards, and was about to rap on the door when there was a sickening crack from inside.

For a split second, the group held its breath. And then there was a stutter

=/=

and they were all inside the house.                                                            

Edge lay sprawled on the floor, a web of cracks on his left temple. Boss stood over him, his expression livid, his fist quivering.

_'THAT'S THE LEAST YOU DESERVE, YOU HEAR ME!'_

Boss looked round at them, and for a second Sans was sure he was going to attack them. 

But, after a few seconds, Boss turned on his heel and stormed away. They waited until he had slammed his bedroom door behind him before they moved again.

Papyrus, Lust and Blueberry got to Edge first.

Papyrus gently moved Edge so he was lying propped up against him, before he wrapped his arms around his ribcage and began to glow. Lust and Blueberry both laid a hand on Edge's arms, and began to glow as well. Healing magic wasn't something that Sans himself was particularly well versed in, so he decided that he'd hang back. However, he couldn't help watching as the cracks seemed to melt away, and fresh bone grew in it's place. Papyrus was very good at healing, and Sans felt a slight tug of pride. Secretly, he was sure that Papyrus was doing most of the work.

After a few minutes, the glows faded. Papyrus lifted Edge up off his lap, and carried him over to the couch.

'anything we can do, orange?'

Papyrus started. He hadn't expected anyone to ask him for directives.

'ER...OH YES! IF YOU COULD GET SOME COFFEE GOING FOR WHEN HE COMES ROUND, THAT'D BE MUCH APPRECIATED.'

Lust nodded. He was about to turn into the kitchen when a chilling voice came down from the landing.

' _I DON'T THINK YOU UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF PUNISHMENT.'_

Everyone turned to face Boss. He was leaning on the banister, looking down, and his expression was giving Sans the chills.

' _MUST I EDUCATE YOU IN EVERYTHING?'_ Slowly, Boss walked down the steps. His walk reminded Sans of a tiger he'd seen on the human's television. ' _WHEN ONE'S WORKERS DO SOMETHING WRONG, THEY MUST BE PUNISHED SO THEY DO NOT DO IT AGAIN.'_

Several glowing red femurs materialised above him. Sans tensed, ready to spring. Boss was working himself up, he knew he was, and he was sure that those femurs were going to fly before Papyrus stood.

'NOW, BOSS, THERE'S NO NEED TO FIGHT.'

Boss' laugh was colder than ice.

' _OH, YOU IDIOT, THERE IS EVERY NEED. IN THIS WORLD, IT'S KILL OR BE KILLED. AND YOU ARE ALL IN THE WAY.'_

'BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE LIKE THAT. I MEAN, YOU HAVE FRIENDS NOW!'

'Friends' was a stretch in Sans' book, but he kept his mouth shut.

** 'we don't need to fight! why can't we just get some coffee and talk it out?' **

'I THINK THERE'S BEEN ENOUGH VIOLENCE TODAY.'

Boss looked daggers at Blueberry and Pole, and was about to say something else when Edge stirred.

'... _mmm...that one...stung...'_

In a flash, Papyrus was at his side again. 

'HOW DO YOU FEEL?'

Edge blinked up at him, his eyelights blurry.

' _i've felt better, but i've felt worse.'_ Edge made to sit up, but Papyrus gently kept him lying down.

'LUST, COULD YOU CONTINUE WITH THAT COFFEE PLEASE?'

Lust nodded shakily. Everyone's attention was now focused on Edge: Blueberry had bounded over and was telling jokes, Sans and Carrot had moved into the kitchen to help Lust, and Pole sat down next to Papyrus to help with Edge.

Boss stood rigid for a minute, before quietly returning to his room. He'd been defeated.

Soon, there was a rich aroma filling the entire house. Lust, as it turned out, was surprisingly good at making drinks, which everyone said as they took a sip. Lust flushed a deep pink colour.

'w-well thanks. i, er, learned how to from grillby.'

'well, your grillby makes a mean brew.'

Laughter. Smiles. Quiet content. And a few minutes ago, the house had been devoid of everything but pain.

'EXCUSE ME, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?'

'of course.'

'THANK YOU!'

Papyrus sat next to Edge, who was gazing down into his mug. 

'ARE YOU FEELING BETTER, EDGE?'

Edge started. He shook his skull and smiled.

' _you don't need to worry yourself about me, orange. you've done more than enough.'_

'BUT OF COURSE I NEED TO WORRY! YOU'RE MY FRIEND! I ALWAYS WANT MY FRIENDS TO BE OK AND...' Papyrus looked down. 'AND I DON'T THINK YOU ARE.'

Edge snorted. ' _you're the first person to worry about me for a long time.'_

Papyrus leaned closer, real worry etched into his skull.

'EDGE...WE'RE ALL CONCERNED ABOUT YOU. ABOUT BOTH OF YOU. PLEASE KNOW YOU'RE NOT ALONE ANYMORE.'

Edge didn't look at him. Papyrus left his coffee mug on the coffee table, and took the other one upstairs.

Boss didn't respond when Papyrus knocked on his door, so Papyrus gingerly opened it.

Boss sat on his bed, his hands in his lap. He was staring straight ahead, and Papyrus had a nasty feeling he was avoiding looking at him.

'I, ER...I BROUGHT YOU COFFEE.'

_'REALLY? I THOUGHT IT WAS BLEACH.'_

Papyrus grimaced.

'YOU...YOU KNOW THAT IF YOU'RE HAVING A BAD TIME...'

Boss barked a laugh that sounded as real as Sans' history of employment.

' _I'M SUPPOSED TO DO WHAT? TALK TO YOU FOOLS?'_ Boss turned to Papyrus, and Papyrus genuinely could not read his expression. ' _NONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND. NONE OF YOU. OKAY?'_

Papyrus nodded. 'YOU ARE RIGHT. I CLEARLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND.' Papyrus walked over to the bedside table, setting the coffee down, before walking to the door. Just before he closed it, he looked behind him. 'BUT I'M TRYING TO, BOSS. AT THE VERY LEAST, I'M TRYING.'

And Papyrus gently closed the door, leaving Boss alone in his darkened room.

~

**'alright guys. looks like we're doin' this without underfell.'**

There was a collective sigh of relief from everyone except Papyrus.

'i have nothing against edge, but boss...i'm glad he's not coming.'

** 'THAT GUY HAS SOME ISSUES.' **

'BUT...SHOULD WE LEAVE THEM LIKE THIS?'

Everyone turned to look at Papyrus. 'I MEAN, I DON'T THINK BOSS AND EDGE ARE ON GOOD TERMS RIGHT NOW.'

'what do you want to do, bro?'

Papyrus twiddled his thumbs, but then a call came from the landing.

' _you numskulls leavin' without me?'_

Edge leaned over the banister. Papyrus let a smile grow on his face. 'ARE YOU COMING?'

_'course i'm comin'. i'd have to have no brain to stay here.'_

There was laughter. And then Edge said, much more sombrely, ' _i, er...have something of yours.'_

Edge reached behind him, and produced Papyrus' cape. Papyrus grinned, and Edge's mouth twitched upwards. He hurried down to join them, and as they left, Papyrus noticed the red and gold neck guard underneath his coat, wrapped firmly around Edge's neck. His smile grew a little wider, as he wrapped his cape around his shoulders. 

 

 


	4. Mini Boss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so now we get more into what the story originally talked about, with the player and all. Sorry it took 4 chapters to do XD
> 
> This one is a bit shorter, sorry, but I kinda wanted to get this together and then have a chapter just devoted to these characters exploring and stuff. That'll be the next one :)

'so...what is it we're doing again?'

Ink had brought everyone into Sans and Papyrus' world, and they were now standing in a circle. Ink looked pensive.

**'my plan is to try and find the world's code.'**

'and we have to stand in a circle to do that?'

**'we don't have to, but it makes it more of a group activity.'**

Edge snorted. ' _i'm half expectin' ya to start singing kumbaya now.'_

**'oh, that's a good idea!'**

' _i'm jokin', i'm jokin'. sheesh.'_ Edge was laughing, and soon everyone had joined in. 

 **'ok, everyone ready?'** Ink said, once everyone had calmed down.

'ready.'

'READY'.

' **raring to go!'**  

'YES!'

' _yup.'_

'ready when you are.'

** 'EH, GUESS SO.' **

**'alright. here goes!'**

The world seemed to flicker. Colours stretched. Light broke. 

And

then

the

world

reformed into a pillar of letters and numbers.

They were standing in a circle of light, and around them, the world was an infinite expanse of non-light. Before them, words and letters stretched up in a column of white, before ending in a dark mass. In the dark mass, there was a door. 

And in front of the door, was a child.

**'quickly! we need to get up there!'**

Ink whipped out the giant brush on his back, and waved it through the air. Blackness poured from the tip of the brush, swirling around them like a whirlpool. Ink pointed the brush upwards, and the mass surged towards the door, carrying them all with it. The door shot towards them at a tremendous speed, and Sans was sure that they were going to crash into it and be dusted, but then the door opened, and they shot through, and then they had crashed into something and they scattered over the floor like bowling pins.

Sans lay still for a moment, waiting for his head to come back online. 

He was lying on what felt like a wooden floor. He could feel that he was underneath a few people, and that wherever they were was quite small. 

'hey...guys? can...can you get off of me?'

There were some muffled apologies from someone on top of him, and then Sans felt the weight on top of him shift, and then a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. He looked around.

They looked like they were in a bedroom. There was the bed, right next to them, with Blueberry and Ink perched on top of it. Behind him there was a computer screen, which was displaying some really weird static, and was what Sans presumed they had, somehow, come through.

And in front of them, looking a little shocked, was a child. They had brown hair, freckles, glasses and were dressed in a loose, black, robe-like top and black trousers. They reminded Sans of Frisk, just with some attire changes.

'Erm...can I help you?'

The first thing a child says to a group of skeletons who had just come bursting through the screen of their computer. Sans wanted to applaud.

  **'er...yes. yes you can.'** Ink stepped off of the child's bed, and walked up to them. Understandably, the child took a step back.

' _hey ink...did we come through the kid's computer?'_

**'i...think we did, yeah.'**

_'can we get back through it?'_

**'...yeah...if we teleport while using it as a doorway.'**

_'k. that's all i need.'_

There was a stutter. The child turned to see Edge standing behind them. Edge grinned wickedly, seizing hold of the child's arm.

**'edge?! what are-'**

Edge blurred. Suddenly, he and the child were behind them, facing the computer, and Edge was reaching forwards, and then the air glitched and they were gone.

Everyone stared.

'did...did he just...'

** 'we need to save the child!' **

Ink grimaced.  **'c'mon'** he huffed.

=/=

The door to Ink's meadow was open. 

The group burst onto the meadow just as a wave of red femurs shot past them. The child had broken free of Edge's grip, and was now trying to outrun his attacks. Ink ran up and grabbed Edge's outstretched hand.

**'EDGE! what the HELL are you doing?!'**

Edge narrowed his eyesockets.

 _'you said that code would lead us to whoever's using it. it led us to them.'_ Edge shot his palm forward. Bones flew like bullets, but then a wave of pink bones intercepted them. Edge growled.

'edge! stop this now!'

Lust stepped forwards, placing himself between Edge and the child. The child was tense, Sans could see it, they were ready to move at a moment's notice, but they weren't trying to run. Sans wasn't sure why they weren't trying to run, but it did make things easier.

_'lust, move your ass outta my way.'_

'why? so you can butcher a child?'

_'if they're who we're lookin' for, then killin' 'em will stop timelines bein' destroyed!'_

'and what if they're not, hm? you'll have killed an innocent child who didn't even try to fight back!'

Edge curled his fingers. ' _you know i'm prepared to kill you too, right?'_

Lust shrugged. 'i'm well aware. i'm still not moving.'

For a moment, Sans saw bloodlust in Edge's eyes...but then he lowered his hand and huffed.

' _fine. but if that kid is the one who's been destroyin' 'em, it's on your head.'_

Edge turned and trudged off into Ink's lodge. Lust didn't budge until he'd closed the door. Only then did he turn to the child.

'are you okay?'

The child nodded. 'I...I'm fine. Thank you...for helping me like that.'

Lust smiled. 'hey, anytime.'

Ink ran up to them.  **'hey...i'm really really sorry about that.'**

The child shook their head. 'It's...it's fine...but I would kinda like an explanation.'

**'of course. well...'**

~

'So that's why he attacked me? He thought I was the one destroying timelines?'

Ink nodded. The child looked worried.

'I mean, it's good he was so prepared to save everyone, I guess, but...' They rubbed their arm in the place Edge had grabbed them. 'He...he was really trying to kill me, wasn't he?'

Ink nodded again.  **'i am really sorry.'**

The child nodded. 'I know. Thank you.'

Everyone had gathered around the child, forming a protective ring. Edge was still in the lodge, probably sulking. 

'so...what do we do now?'

Ink rubbed his jaw.

**'i...don't honestly know. i thought that whatever the code led us to would be the being responsible, but it wasn't. this kid was just using it-he didn't make it.'**

The child looked down at their feet. Sans wanted to tell them they had no reason to be guilty, but he couldn't quite find the words.

So, it was a screw-up. They were back to square one, minus Boss, and now they had no idea what to do. 

Then it hit him.

'shit, kid, i'm sorry...we don't even know your name.'

The child straightened, looking as embarrassed as Sans felt. They gave a nervous chuckle. 'W-well, er...heh...m-my name is...'

They coughed, clearing their throat. 'Sorry. My name is Jamie.'

Sans held out a hand. 'nice to meet you jamie. my name is sans, but here i'm called blue.'

Jamie chuckled, and shook Sans' hand. 'Nice to meet you, Blue.'

Jamie went round the whole group as they introduced themselves. Sans noted, with an urge to laugh, Jamie's reactions to Lust and Pole. After everyone had shaken Jamie's hand, Ink pointed to his lodge.

**'the guy in there is called edge.'**

The child raised an eyebrow. 'I wonder why.'

Ink chuckled. ' **he's not all bad, really. but...well...i dunno, he's complicated.'**

Jamie shrugged. 'Fair enough. Well, we're all complicated, aren't we?'

 **'yeah, i guess so.'** Ink suddenly looked forlorn. He turned to Jamie and said, seriously.  **'what do you want to do now, kid?'**

Jamie put a finger on the rim of their lips and thought. Over their shoulder, Sans caught Lust looking at Jamie's lips. He hissed, and Lust started before looking sheepishly down at the ground.

'I...I kinda want to help.' Jamie held up their hands in a kind of peace offering way. 'I-I mean, if you're ok with me coming along. I...' they hesitated, blushing. 'I...want to do something heroic. B-but I'm not much of a fighter, if...'

Ink patted Jamie on the shoulder.  **'kid, if you want to come, we can use all the help we can get.'**

Jamie looked up. 'R-really?'

**'really.'**

Ink grinned, and Jamie laughed.

'Wow! Th-thanks!'

Suddenly, without warning, Jamie had been swept up into Papyrus' arms. 'OH THIS IS FANTASTIC! WE HAVE A NEW FRIEND!'

Jamie looked a little bewildered, but smiled at Papyrus as he held Jamie up high. Sans chuckled. 'ok bro, that's enough i think. c'mon, kid's been through enough.'

'BUT SANS...'

'c'mon bro. we can do that another time.'

Making a mock sulking face, Papyrus set Jamie down on the ground. Jamie grinned.

'Ok so...what do we do now?'

And the bubble popped. Ink looked sullen.

**'as...as i said kid, we don't know. i was sure it'd end with you...'**

Jamie looked crestfallen. And then it came.

' _why don't we go talk to dr alphys?'_

Everyone turned, and Jamie tensed, but Edge saw them and chuckled.  _'kid, as much as i don't trust you, i ain't gonna touch you. if i try, i'm kinda worried lust is gonna touch me.'_

Lust made a face. Edge snorted. 

**'you said...dr alphys?'**

Edge nodded.  _'yeah. our dr alphys works a lot on weaponry, but her predecessor worked with determination. specifically how determination can warp the timeline. if anyone knows anything about it, she will, and if she doesn't, we can steal her notes.'_

It actually didn't sound so bad.

**'ok then. everyone agreed?'**

Everyone agreed. And so, the plan was made.


	5. First Boss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, this is the first story arc I've really stuck with, and I'm really happy at the response it's gotten so far. Thank you all :) 
> 
> Also, now we will hopefully be getting into the more...descriptive stuff. 
> 
> I hope. I don't know, I don't plan these chapters out beforehand, honestly it could go anywhere.

Jamie was half sure that they were dreaming. It was pretty incredible to believe that, in the space of less than twenty minutes, they'd been kidnapped and attacked by a grouchy skeleton, saved by a stripper skeleton, and had then joined a team of skeletons to try and save, presumably, all the skeletons in the universe (as well as everyone else, but Jamie was still flipping out a little over all the skeletons. After all, seeing a walking, talking skeleton was not exactly commonplace where Jamie came from).

But Jamie also felt everything to be so real, so certain, that they couldn't dismiss it as a dream. They could feel the grass beneath them, which turned into hard stone as they entered the door into Underfell. They could feel the eyes watching them from the shadows, they could taste the moisture in the air.

It was just too real to think of as fake. 

And...Jamie wanted to help. They knew enough, and they weren't stupid. They could help Sans, Lust, Edge, Carrot, all of them, even if it was just by being morale support. Dammit, if they needed Jamie to be morale support, then Jamie'd be the best morale supporter they could ask for!

Jamie silently puffed up their chest with their newfound determination, and picked up their pace slightly, in order to keep level with the others.

~

 Sans and Ink were walking side by side, Edge trudging just ahead of them, leading the way to Dr. Alphys' lab. Sans turned as he heard Jamie catch up to them. Sans gave Jamie a smile that Jamie nervously returned.

'you doin' ok, kid?'

Jamie nodded. Ink turned, and smiled.

 **'that is good to hear.'** His expression became serious.  **'but kid, you know, if you or anyone else here has a problem...'**

Jamie nodded again. 'I know. I do appreciate that you'll listen, but...honestly, I'm kinda excited.'

Up ahead, Edge mumbled something.

'E-Edge? What did you say, sorry?' Understandably, Jamie was a bit nervous around Edge. Edge turned, flashing a wicked smile.

_'i said that if alphys wants to experiment on ya, i aint gettin in her way.'_

Jamie hesitated for a second, but then kept going. 'Well, if that's what it takes, then okay.'

Edge barked a laugh.  _'you'd accept it? just like that? kid, you got big dreams, but i doubt you've done anything like this before, and dr alphys likes to make her experiments suffer.'_ He moved so he and Jamie were walking side by side, and he whispered something in their ear that Sans didn't catch, but Edge began to make a nasty chuckling sound. Jamie went pale.

Sans moved between them, forcing Edge back out in front, before whispering to Jamie 'hey, don't take notice of him.'

Jamie looked ahead, past Edge. 'I-I'll try not to, but...' They gulped. The gleaming white building that was Dr. Alphys' lab loomed before them, the windows dark, and the lights at the entrance flickering.

Ink told Edge to hold up, and they waited until everyone had caught up before Ink announced his plan. Not everyone approved.

'we're seriously just going to waltz in there and just ask her?'

Ink nodded. Lust looked a little disbelieving.

_'i dunno lust. maybe you could seduce her with your pole-dancing skills?'_

Lust gave Edge a look that Sans didn't quite catch, but he was amazed (and somewhat happy) to see Edge recoil with a look of horror on his face. Lust advanced on him, and Edge backed away.

_'o-ok, i take it back i take it back-'_

Somehow, despite the fact they were pretty much the same height, Lust seemed to tower over Edge. His back was to the group, but they could all see a pink glow emanating from his skull. Edge's skull was being dazzled by it.

Then Lust snapped a laugh, and strode back to the group. Edge stayed where he was for a moment, and Lust shot him a wink. Edge shook himself and returned, but made sure to stand as far away from Lust as possible.

'What...just happened?' Jamie whispered to Sans.

Sans shrugged. 'i couldn't tell ya kid, but i don't think it's something either of us should know about.'

Jamie nodded in agreement.

**'so, is everyone okay with that?'**

Lust shook his skull. 'i don't like it. it's too risky.'

Ink looked sombre.  **'i know it is, lust, but really we don't have much of a choice. besides, if we do need to fight, there's nine of us and only one of her.'**

Lust folded his arms. Finally he sighed. 'ok. but we better stick together, is all i'm saying.'

Ink nodded.  **'of course.'**

They all turned and, walking in a kind of arrowhead formation, advanced on the door. 

Ink knocked. 

No response.

Ink knocked again.

'WHY ARE YOU KNOCKING?'

Ink turned to Pole.  **'i don't want to give her a reason to respond violently.'**

Ink knocked a third time.

Still nothing.

Ink sighed, and was about to summon some kind of attack when Jamie stepped forwards.

'We have captured a human! Please open up!'

Immediately, the doors swung wide open.

Jamie turned, smiling, to the group, who all stood with slack jaws.

'i...honestly can't believe that worked.'

Jamie giggled. 'I had a hunch.'

**'well...it worked.'**

Ink stepped past Jamie, scanning the area.  **'ok, the coast is clear.'**

They filed into the lab, walking as a group. Jamie held their hands up, in what Sans guessed to be a fighting stance. He himself gripped his magic tightly.

There was a buzz

and the lights came on.

Before them stood a short, dumpy-looking monster, with yellow scales and pointed crests on her head. She was wearing a white lab coat. Her clawed feet clacked as they moved across the floor. She turned to them, gazing at Jamie.

A smile like a knife wound crept across her face.

_'Ah...perfect!'_

She swept across the room, and seized Jamie's arms. She squeezed them, looking into their eyes. Sans saw the colour drain from Jamie's face.

' _I hoped you would come soon! Oh, this is perfect! Asgore is going to be-'_

Pole and Lust stepped forwards, pushing Alphys away from Jamie. Lust shot Jamie a reassuring glance. Alphys' smile vanished, her lips curling.

' _And what is the meaning of this? You bring me a human and then bar me from taking it?'_

'WE'RE NOT GIVING YOU THE HUMAN. WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU, AND WE WANT TO DO IT WITHOUT ANY KIND OF VIOLENCE.'

The two moved so Jamie was behind them. Alphys looked like she was going to shriek at them, but then Ink came forward.

**'alphys. i apologize, but we had to lie in order to gain peaceful entry into this lab. we really need to talk to you.'**

Alphys folded her arms.  _'And why should I talk to you at all? Why shouldn't I call the Royal Guard and have them dispose of you all?'_

Ink leaned forwards until he was an inch from Alphys' face.

 **'because if you don't, we could all be doomed. us, you...'** Ink narrowed his eyesockets. ' **undyne.'**

Alphys recoiled at the name. Ink kept going.

**'you don't want her to die, do you? well, i can effectively guarantee she will unless you help us.'**

Alphys wrung her hands, but eventually she seemed to deflate. She sighed.

_'Fine. But I have a request.'_

Ink grinned, and before Edge could stop him, he said  **'what is it?'**

Alphys smiled her horrible smile, and pointed at Jamie.

_'That one. I wish to run a few tests on them.'_

Ink looked like he'd been punched. Edge growled menacingly at him.

Alphys moved towards Jamie. Lust and Pole held out their hands, but Jamie grabbed them.

'No! Don't attack her.'

Pole and Lust looked at Jamie like he was crazy. Jamie insisted. 'I...I don't want to, but...' They stepped out between the two, and looked Alphys in the eyes. 'It...really is important that we know. So...okay. I'll go willingly.'

Alphys smiled.  _'Splendid! This way, please.'_

She wrapped an arm around Jamie's and led them down the darkened corridor to their left. Jamie looked back, smiling reassuringly, before the darkness swallowed them up.

Ink looked lost. Lust stormed over to them.

'well, a right fine leader you are.' He spat. 'if you'd kept your mouth shut, or better yet, not accepted any of her requests, we'd be fine!'

Sans looked at Edge. He was staring after Jamie, a shocked look on his face. Lust walked up, and jabbed them hard.

'and as for you! you could've warned us, or spoken up, or something!'

Edge started, looking at Lust with a wild look on his face.

_'i-i'm sorry ok?! i didn't mean to let em go like that!'_

Lust took a step back, Edge's tone of voice catching him off-guard. He sounded...genuinely sorry...and genuinely scared. Lust paused, before sighing.

'edge...i'm sorry. i'm being unfair. i...do agree that she probably wouldn't have told us anything without jamie...' Lust looked down at the ground. 'it...it's just...jamie's a kid. a kid we literally bumped into earlier today. already, they've been kidnapped and had an attempt made on their life.' Lust looked Edge in the face, and Edge looked back. 'i don't think it's fair. that's all.'

Edge nodded slowly.

 _'...you're right. it aint fair.'_ Edge's mouth twitched.  _'scuse me.'_ He hurried past Sans, past Blueberry and Carrot, and out the door. 

And that was when the scream came. 

Everyone froze. Blueberry gripped Orange's hoodie. ' **b-brother? w-what's happening to j-jamie?'**

Orange looked down the corridor, and wrapped an arm around Blueberry, holding him close.  **'I DUNNO BRO. I DUNNO...'**

Another scream. This one started off on one note, and then something happened, and it twisted into something higher, shriller.

Sans couldn't bear it. Neither could Carrot, Blueberry or Pole. The four of them made noises like 'nope' or 'oh god' and hurried out after Edge. The rest of them stood, staring as though frozen, down the corridor.

~

Outside, the four of them saw a large boulder which was a fair distance away from the lab. They all had the same idea, and walked hastily over to it.

'i...really don't like leavin em like that...'

The others stopped.

'NO...I DON'T EITHER, BUT...' Pole looked sheepish. 'I'M...NOT VERY GOOD WITH PAIN. I'M NOT REALLY A FIGHTER, YOU SEE.'

** 'oh, but that's good! it means you don't hurt people!' **

Pole looked gratefully down at Blueberry, and folded his arms. 'I GUESS SO...BUT HONESTLY IT'S MORE THAT I'M NOT VERY BRAVE.' He quivered. 'I MEAN...WHERE I COME FROM...I'M A STRIPPER. A PROSTITUTE. IT'S NOT EXACTLY THE BRAVEST JOB.' Pole looked down at his feet. His shaking worsened. Blueberry laid a hand on his arm, and Carrot put an arm around his shoulders. Sans guided them over to the boulder, against which they sank down to the ground just as Pole began to cry.

'A-AND I TH-THOUGHT THAT D-DOING THIS W-WOULD M-MAKE UP F-FOR BEING A C-C-COWARD, BUT Y-YOU GUYS ARE ALL H-HUNDREDS OF T-TIMES B-BR-BRAVER THAN M-ME, EVEN J-JAMIE, AND W-WE JUST M-MET JAMIE, A-AND NOW THEY'RE G-GETTING HURT A-AND I C-COULD HAVE ST-STOPPED IT B-BUT I-'

Carrot pulled him in closer, and Pole sank into his shoulder, crying his eyes out. Blueberry put his arms around Pole's waist and snuggled up to him.

** 'it'll be ok! jamie'll get through it, i'm sure!' **

It would take a Sans to know when another Sans was hiding their real feelings. Blueberry shot Sans a glance that told him to say nothing, and Sans winked in agreement.

Pole's sobs quieted. He turned his head so he wasn't facing down onto Carrot's shoulder anymore, and let out a shaky breath.

'S-SORRY ABOUT THAT.' He shifted his head, nuzzling into Carrot's neck. 'SORRY CARROT, I THINK I GOT YOUR HOODIE A BIT WET.'

Carrot nuzzled his head with his chin.  **'NO WORRIES. HEY IF YOU EVER NEED A SHOULDER TO CRY ON, YOU COME TO ME, 'K?'**

Pole chuckled quietly. 'YEAH, I WILL DO. THANK YOU.'

Sans looked at Blueberry. His face seemed to be turning blue.

Suddenly he shot to his feet, a finger pointing into the sky, bellowing ' **I SHIP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'**

Pole and Carrot tensed.

There was a second of silence.

Then the two hastily moved away from each other and sat upright with their thumbs twiddling in their laps.

Blueberry seemed to deflate.  **'awwwwwwwwwwwwwww. brother, it was adorable...'** He pulled an exaggerated sad face, sticking his ectoplasmic tongue out.

Carrot and Pole made an almost identical nervous laugh, and didn't look at each other. Sans swore he saw beads of sweat appear on their foreheads.

And then, they heard it. A small sobbing noise.

Instantly, they were on their feet. Pole clasped a long pink femur, Blueberry had two shorter, light blue ones orbiting above him, Carrot's eyes blazed orange, and Sans had summoned a blaster. 

The sobbing was coming from somewhere close by.

Silently, Sans signed with his fingers. The three nodded. They separated.

Sans took a glance at where the others were looking: Pole had gone off in the direction of the river, Blueberry and Carrot were scanning the way they had originally come from. That left the boulder for Sans.

As quietly as he could, Sans crept around the boulder. The noise grew louder. 

He could make out a figure slumped against the boulder now, dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. Beneath them, lava churned. Skeletons didn't feel heat or cold very much, but they wouldn't survive a fall into the stuff. Sans gripped the sides of the boulder tightly as the figure came into full vision.

It was Edge.

His skull was streaked with tears, which splashed onto his coat and evaporated in the heat. Sans felt for the magic concentrated in his blaster, and dispelled it. Edge looked up at him as he moved closer.

'hey...'

Edge sniffed, another wave of tears rolling down his cheekbones, but he managed to mutter a  _'hey...'_ back.

Sans settled himself down so he was next to Edge, not getting too close, but close enough to be companionable.

'dare i ask what's set off the waterworks?'

Edge gave a forced laugh.  _'why'd ya think?'_

Sans smiled sadly. 'you're worried about jamie, aren't you?'

Edge stayed still for a moment before nodding. Sans looked at him. 'why's it hitting you so hard, though?'

Edge looked back at him.  _'cause if i hadn't tried to scare them with all that talk about alphys they may not have offered themselves up like that!'_ Edge put his skull in his hands.  _'lust is right. it's my fault they're getting hurt right now.'_

Sans looked down at the lava. 'i...i don't think it was your fault. i think they'd have done it anyway.'

_'but i pushed them! you tell me they're not in pain right now.'_

And Sans couldn't, because they were. Edge gave a noise of grim triumph. 

'do...do you think alphys would be finished by now?'

Edge gave a gruff nod. ' _it's been nearly long enough. might as well make sure we're there.'_

~

Nearly ten minutes later, Alphys and Jamie re-emerged. The second Lust and Papyrus saw Jamie, they ran forwards, Lust grabbing them by their arms and pulling them away from Alphys, and Papyrus sweeping them both up in his arms. Alphys watched them with mild amusement, before turning her attention to Ink.

' _You wanted to know about timelines, correct?'_

Ink nodded. Alphys beckoned them.

' _This way.'_


	6. Level Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU! I am honestly amazed at the reaction this story has had. The comments I've been left light up my day, and the numbers for both hits and kudos are WAAAAAAAAAY higher than I ever thought they'd be. 
> 
> Also, now, I think this chapter is where the secrets begin to emerge. 
> 
> Prepare for angst, fluff and combat.

bright

sharp

tube

pipe

vein

long

pierce

straps

and Jamie woke, pale and sweating.

They were lying on what felt like a couch, underneath what felt like three duvets. They were also not wearing anything.

After a few minutes trying to wrap their head around this, and letting a brief worry about Lust and Pole having some involvement cross their mind, Jamie made to sit up. In an instant, however, there was someone at their side.

'HUMAN! YOU MUST REST!'

It was Papyrus...as in Orange Papyrus. Jamie looked at Papyrus and allowed themselves to sink back into the couch. Papyrus was looking at them with such a mixture of relief and worry it was almost painful to see.

'YOU...YOU REALLY DID NOT LOOK WELL. TO BE HONEST...I...' Papyrus looked away, his voice catching. '...I THOUGHT YOU'D...FALLEN DOWN.'

Falling Down was the monster version of dying, when their SOUL fractured and their bodies turned to dust.

Jamie wanted to tell Papyrus that their concern was flattering, but their voice barely worked. Papyrus wiped something away from his eyesockets before turning back to Jamie, a sad smile back on his face.

'W-WELL, YOU'RE STILL HERE, AND THAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT.'

Jamie managed a smile, before feeling sleep creep back over them again.

~

 They were awoken, much later, by an aching hunger, and a massive bang on the door. 

Jamie froze in the bed, not sure whether to get up and investigate, or to call for Papyrus. As they lay there, Papyrus himself hurried past them.

'I THINK THAT'LL BE THE OTHERS! HOLD ON!'

Jamie relaxed, but sat themselves up on the couch as Papyrus opened the door. Sure enough, there they were: Ink leading the way, they filed in. As soon as Lust entered, he made a beeline for Jamie.

'h-hey kid! how you feeling?'

Jamie smiled. 'I'm feeling much better, thanks.'

Lust visibly relaxed, letting out a breath. 'oh thank god. i was so worried when you lost consciousness like that.'

 Ink came over into view.  **'orange was brilliant. he took you back here all by himself.'**

Jamie felt a swell of gratitude for Papyrus. Looking over, they saw Sans wrapping Papyrus in a hug, and smiled.

They turned back to Lust and Ink, and instead, they looked straight into a pair of bright blue stars.

** 'hello! it is good to see you are well!' **

Jamie blinked, and then grinned. Blueberry blushed slightly, their cheekbones turning light blue, and moved back.  **'s-sorry, i didn't realise i was too close.'**

Jamie chuckled. 'Hey, it's fine. It really is nice that you guys care about me so much.' They turned to look for Edge, but they couldn't see him. Carrot, who had followed Jamie's gaze, tapped them on the shoulder.

** 'I, ER, THINK HE'S OUTSIDE, KID.' **

'Oh...okay.'

There had been a part of Jamie that had hoped Edge would be worried about them.

Apparently not.

~

_Edge really did not know what to do._

_The kid was alive. The kid wasn't hurt...badly, at least._

_So why did he have that twisting feeling in his 'gut'? Why did he still feel so guilty?_

_Edge shook himself. He had a plan now-he needed to stay focused._

~

They were all seated around the couch where Jamie sat, propped up on every cushion Papyrus could find, but they all turned to the door when they heard Edge shuffle in. For a second, he froze, and then he huffed and sat himself down on the floor next to Blueberry. Ink smiled.

**'ok, so, i'd say that overall that was a success.'**

Jamie made a face, but Ink, realising what he had said, turned hurriedly to him.

**'i-i don't mean you being hurt! god no! i-i-i really didn't-'**

Jamie held up a hand. 'Well, that is nice to hear, honestly, but I didn't think you did.' They looked confused. 'But...what did happen after I...blacked out? What did Alphys tell you?'

Ink, looking immensely relieved, was about to reply when Edge growled ' _jack diddly shit, that's what. i dunno how you can what we got a success.'_

Ink turned to him.  **'edge...it wasn't nothing.'**

Edge snorted.  _'really? all we got was a glance at her notes and a riddle from gaster. not exactly substantial if you ask me.'_

**'she did fulfil her end of the bargain, though! she told us what gaster had been researching!'**

_'she answered our question with a question.'_ Edge's teeth looked a lot sharper suddenly. Ink shifted, whether uncomfortable or angry, it was difficult to say. Jamie however, got a question in before it all kicked off again.

'What was the riddle?'

Ink, glad of the distraction, turned back to Jamie. Edge huffed again.

**'it was...**

**timeline circling**

**until determined twice**

**break loop**

**stain left evermore**

 

**...and it was the last thing dr gaster wrote about it. he died very soon after writing this.'**

Jamie looked thoughtful. Sans leaned a little closer.

'So...the last thing...he?' Ink nodded. 'He wrote was...this riddle?'

Sans spoke. 'alphys was adamant that this was the last thing he ever wrote before his death.' He looked dark. 'why she was so adamant remains a mystery i don't really want to know the answer to.'

'What do you guys think it means so far?'

_'well we know 'timeline circling' obviously means the loops of resets and continues, and 'break loop' means that something happens to stop it. the rest...we dunno.'_

Determined twice...Sans had an itching feeling that he should know the answer. It was just out of reach.

He was broken out of his thoughts by Edge. Edge had gotten to his feet and was heading for the door.

** 'WHERE ARE YOU OFF TO?' **

Edge turned. There was a look in his eye.

_'alphys had loads more that she didn't tell us or let us see.'_

Ink sighed.  **'edge, i know, but she told us what she promised.'** Something in his features seemed to sharpen.  **'and if you're thinking of offering jamie up to her again-'**

Edge faced him with such sudden ferocity and defiance that Sans jumped.

_'that's what you'd think i'd do?'_

**'well, kinda, yeah, especially after you spent the whole trip there assuring them they were going to be tortured in ways that they'd never dreamed of.'**

Something caught in Edge's face. His mouth twitched, and for a moment Sans was certain he was going to say something obscene. But then Edge drew a breath.

_'i...would never offer them up to alphys. not after what they've been through.'_

Sans glanced at Jamie. Their mouth had dropped open slightly and their eyes were wide. Sans looked back to Edge.

Slowly, a wicked grin spread over Edge's face.

**'what?'**

Edge's smile widened.

 _'if we aint gonna offer up the human, then we aint got a choice.'_ Everyone leaned in.

' _we're gonna have a heist.'_

~

 

  **'edge, what's the plan?'**

Blueberry leaned close to Edge, who was watching Dr. Alphys. She was standing just outside the entrance to the lab, looking at her phone. She seemed to be scrolling down something. Messages from Undyne, perhaps?

They were on a rocky outcrop that would have been impossible to reach without the ability to teleport or fly, and which jutted out from the cavern wall just above the roof of the lab. If anyone fell, they'd be dusted for sure.

_'right now, we're waitin for alphys to leave.'_

** 'how do you know she's going to leave? i thought she lived here.' **

Edge snorted.

_'well, honestly, she probably does. but i know for a fact that tonight's the night she goes to the garbage dump. that's our window of opportunity.'_

Sans, Pole and Jamie watched the two of them. Lust and Carrot were hanging back to guard their escape route, and Ink was sitting a distance away, doing something in the sketchbook that seemed to just appear and disappear at random. Papyrus had been told to stay at home and prepare some dinner, which he had only been to happy to do. Sans didn't honestly want him to do things that were even close to illegal.

'how ya feelin about this, kid?'

Jamie shrugged. 'I mean, I've never robbed somewhere before, but it's for a good cause. So pretty good.' They smiled. 'How about you two?'

Sans shrugged. 'eh, so-so.'

'Pole?'

'WELL...I'VE NEVER BEEN IN A ROBBERY EITHER, BUT I AM PRETTY GOOD AT SNEAKING PAST PEOPLE.'

Sans felt a twinge of guilt, but he didn't really want to know the details of how exactly Pole had honed that particular skill.

_'ok! she's going! get ready!'_

Ink scrambled to put his sketchbook away. Sans stifled a chuckle, and they went over to the edge. Sure enough, Dr. Alphys was leaving. She was heading down towards the river, where the Riverperson sat patiently. Edge waited until the boat had slipped out of sight before saying  _'ok! jump!'_

They jumped. Five forms fell in perfect synchronisation, landing with an eerie silence.

Jamie hadn't jumped.

_'what's the matter, kid? afraid of heights?'_

Jamie shifted uncomfortably.

'K-kinda...also I-I don't have any m-magic so...' They suddenly looked angry. 'Hey! Why didn't we just teleport?'

 _'aint it more fun this way?'_ Edge smirked.

'Decidedly no. I don't want to fall into lava, thank you very much.'

Edge held out a hand. Red light wrapped itself around Jamie, and for a second they looked terrified.  _'this aint an attack kid, i'm movin ya down here.'_

Jamie still looked more than a little nervous as their body lifted up off the ground, and then floated slowly down to the roof. When Edge released them, he released them so they still had to fall a little distance, and Jamie glowered at him. Edge laughed.

_'heh, kid, for that, you're comin' with me.'_

'why? are we splittin' up?'

 _'yeah. i don't know if alphys has any defenses, but i doubt she'd waste hours making a security system for a bunch of notes. if we split up into pairs, we'll search quicker.'_ Edge split them up: Ink with Pole, Blueberry with Sans, and Jamie with himself.

 _'ok. ready to go in?'_  He glanced at Jamie. _'_ _there'll be a jump-want me to hold your hand?'_

Jamiegave Edge a look that Sans would have described as 'cutty-cutty, stabby-stabby.', but held out their hand. Something flickered in Edge's features for a second, and then he smirked.

_'ok, jamie and i, go through the front. there should be windows or maintenance panels up here-you guys go in through those.'_

Edge took Jamie's hand, and they leapt from the roof, landing on the spot where Alphys had been only a few minutes before. Edge went to the door.

_'we could teleport in, if...you'd prefer.'_

Jamie gave Edge a smile. 'That would be preferable, yeah. Thank you.'

Edge took Jamie's hand again, and then they flickered out of existence. Sans grinned to himself, before turning back. Blueberry was dancing excitedly-the hatch he'd found was indeed a maintenance hatch.

'after you.' Sans smiled. Blueberry sparkled again, and dove into the hatch. Literally. Sans was worried he was going to hurt himself. But then Blueberry popped up, grinning, and Sans smiled, following him in.

~

_Dammit._

_Why had taking the kid's hand been so big of a deal?_

_Edge shook himself mentally. Now was not the time._

'Honestly, I didn't think I'd be back here so soon.'

_Edge huffed. 'well kid, neither did any of us.'_

_Edge shot a glance around, before eyeing the cabinet where Alphys kept her notes. 'ok, there we go!'_

_As Edge stepped forwards, closer to the cabinet, 'Stop right there!' echoed throughout the room._

_Jamie and Edge jumped, whipping around, Edge's magic flashing, Jamie raising their hands._

_A large, rectangular figure with two pairs of snakelike arms was standing behind them, blocking the door. Edge smirked._

_'sorry bucko, we're on a tight schedule, so can't stop.' Edge turned to Jamie. 'get the notes, kid.'_

_Jamie nodded and turned, and then a small explosion shook the lab._

_'Sorry darling, but I'm afraid if you go any closer to those files I'm going to have to blow you both to itty-bitty pieces.'_

_Jamie shot Edge a look._

'Ok, ok, I'm not going any closer to them.'  _Jamie began moving away from the cabinet, and around the robot._

_'Darling, if you're trying to sneak up on me...'_

_It actually wouldn't be too difficult to do, seeing as the robot could only see in on direction._

_'...I have motion tracking sensors in my back. If something gets too close...'BOOM!'.'_

_Shit._

_Jamie however, kept going. They were now out of the robot's sight._

_'I know you're there!'_

'Am I close enough to you to be blown up?'

_'...No...'_

_Jamie nodded to themselves. They were now behind the robot, in front of the door._

_The bottom fell out of Edge's 'stomach'._

_'Oh darling, you should have told me you were leaving!' The robot gave a high, mechanical laugh._

_Edge stared at Jamie. Jamie looked over the robot, at Edge._

_They gave a hand signal. Edge felt his 'stomach' refill, and he nodded. Jamie stepped backwards to the door, and opened it._

_'Darling, I'm so sorry, but you've still committed a crime. I'm afraid I'm going to have to incinerate you now.'_

_The robot rotated so it was facing Jamie. As it did, Edge wrapped his magic around the cabinet._

_'or not!' The robot rotated again, and as it did, Edge teleported, the cabinet vanishing, and he wrapped his arms around Jamie just as he heard something fire, and then they were gone, and they were in front of the door in Waterfall and the cabinet was safe and_ _Lust and Carrot were there and they were safe._

_They lay there for a few moments._

_Then Edge let out a massive laugh._

_'did you see that?! that was AWESOME!'_

_Jamie laughed too._ 'Yeah! Did you like how I distracted him?'

_'kid if you hadn't done that we'd still be there. that was brilliant!'_

_Jamie blushed._ 'Well, if it wasn't for you being so fast, we'd still be there, just a lot less of us.'

_Edge grinned. 'kid, we're just both awesome.'_

_Lust and Carrot looked at each other, and shook their skulls._

'come on you two-let's get this inside the house.'

~

Sans had to admit, he was pretty impressed at how much Alphys had hidden from them. The notes in the cabinet held information on everything from the correct concentration of DETERMINATION needed to cause a monster's body to melt (down to the nearest millilitre) to the records of every anime DVD that had ever fallen into the underground, along with a rating out of five (Mew Mew Stabby Devil had a rating of six).

The one infuriating thing was, Dr. Gaster had left nothing but cryptic notes. 

However...they did all add to the final riddle.

~

_Edge leant on the fence outside Ink's lodge. The sky above him was a rich, inky blue, scattered with countless points of light. He guessed this is what it was like on the Surface._

_He raised the beer to his mouth and took another swallow. He almost didn't dare to believe this was real, but...it was._

_Edge turned at the sound of footsteps. Jamie walked over, and leaned on the fence next to him._

'Hey there.'  _They smiled at him._

_Not much more than a day ago, Edge had been trying to kill them. Snakes writhed in his gut again, but he managed a 'heya.' back._

_To his...annoyance? relief?...Jamie seemed to pick up that he wasn't feeling too great._

'Er...is something the matter? You look a bit...worried, I guess.'

_Edge smiled a smile that he knew looked wonky, and took another swig._

_'well, er...i guess i'm just reeling from how awesome we were back then.'_

_Jamie raised an eyebrow._

'While we were pretty cool, you were the coolest, and now you look like you can see death coming over the horizon. What's wrong?'

_It hadn't been long ago that Edge had considered leaping off of Snowdin Bridge, and now he was surrounded by people who CARED about him. He took another swallow just to do something, to buy time. He hadn't done this in a long...long time._

_'kid...i'm...'_

_His throat felt like someone had stuffed a rope down it._

_'i'm sorry about trying to kill you. i really am.'_

_His eyesockets prickled. He turned away from Jamie, but they'd seen._

'You...are?'

_Edge nodded. The knot in his throat grew bigger, pushing up behind his eyesockets._

_And then two soft, warm arms wrapped themselves around him, and there was a fuzzy weight on his shoulder._

'Thank you, Edge.'

_Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand there went the waterworks._

~

'are you sure?'

Ink nodded.

**'i've been watching them this whole time. not only that, but...well, the points just add up.'**

Sans looked down at the ground, leaning against the wall. He folded his arms.

'i...admit, i was thinkin' somethin' similar. i guess...i didn't want it to be true...'

Ink looked at him sadly.

~

_'aand then she shaid...she'd never even HEARD o' tha' one before...and sho I shaid...'lady...you ain't heard NUTHIN like what i got!'_

_Edge was drunk again. Did he care?_

_Nope._

_Jamie leaned on the fence, supporting both of their weights._

'Erm, Edge...you may have had enough.'

_'thash bullshit kid, you can NEVER have too mush when your a shkeleton!'_

'That's just an unfair advantage.'

_'life'sh unfair kid...shorry to break it to ya' ya know...ya know what?'_

'What?'

_'i think you're the only HOOOOOOOOOMAN friend i have...and thash no lie now, no...no...'_

_Despite the alcohol, Edge could see Jamie smiling. That just spurred him on more, and he would have launched into a tirade of hilarious jokes if the others hadn't come through the door._

'guys. we need to talk.'

~

Sans watched as Jamie tried, and failed, to shrug Edge off of them. Edge clung on like a limpet, the empty bottle in his hands, and about three more on the floor. 

Side note, he thought, how the hell had he managed to drink all those so quick? It was kind of impressive.

Jamie was about to try to peel Edge's fingers off of their clothes when Sans snapped his fingers. Blue light gripped Edge, and he was forced back a few steps. He made a face and sunk against the fence, sliding down to the floor.

'Sorry, Sans, what's up?'

They looked so much like Frisk. So much like that child who had fallen down.

So much like that child who had done what Jamie told them to do.

'kid...we know what you are.'

...

...

The colour drained from Jamie's face.

 _'course you fuckkin know what they are...they're a frickkin HOOOOOMAN.'_ Edge waved the bottle. 

Jamie took a step back.

'Can...can I say something first?'

Sans nodded.

'I never...I never thought that...what I did would affect everyone like it did.'

'course you didn't. it's all a game to you, isn't it?'

Sans wanted to be angry, furious even, at Jamie. But honestly, if he'd seen people on a screen like they had, he probably would've assumed the exact same thing.

_'wait...what you guysh talkin bout?'_

Jamie turned to Edge. Sans saw something roll down their cheek.

'Edge...I'm the one who's been destroying timelines. I...I'm the one using the controls. You said it yourself, Ink.' Ink looked down at the floor and avoided Jamie's gaze.

'I...if I'd known what I was doing-'

_'you WHAT?!?!?!'_

Edge was suddenly on his feet. Jamie jumped, and took a step back.

_'YOU?!?! you're...you're the one who...'_

Edge seemed much less drunk now.

_'you realise what exactly you've done?'_

Jamie nodded slowly. Edge seemed frozen with rage.

'I know how to prevent it.' Jamie reached for Ink, their eyes constantly flickering to Edge. 'A world will only be destroyed if the child gains enough power. That can only be done by wiping the timeline clean of beings except for themselves-'

_'so you killed us, then?'_

Jamie looked at Edge. 

His skull faced down to the ground. Only the bottom part of his mouth and his chin were visible. 

There was something running over them.

Suddenly, there were bones in the air, and Jamie's eyes widened as they shot for their head. 

A burst of colour, and the bones vanished, but then another set appeared, and Jamie ducked under them. Another came hurtling for them, and this time one grazed Jamie's arm. 

_'YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A MURDERER!!!!!!!!!!'_

Edge and Jamie locked eyes.

Glowing blood red, Edge waved a hand. Jamie was hurled backwards into the fence, their body folding over it, the fence breaking off the wall completely.

Jamie and fence flew across the meadow. Sans held out a hand, and grasped Jamie mid-air, but then something slammed into his ribs, and he staggered, dropping them.

Edge took another step, and then Lust was on top of him, one arm around Edge's neck, the other locking his arm behind his back.

'HELP THEM, you! Don't just stand there!'

Edge spat.

_'why don't you crawl back to your hole and fuck a pillow, you slut?'_

Lust faltered. Edge ripped them off of him, and ran forwards to where Jamie was. 

_'i'm gonna turn you into what monsters become when they die.'_   


An animal skull shaped blaster materialised in mid-air, the muzzle aimed squarely at Jamie.

'Fine. Do it.'

Jamie looked at Edge in the eyesockets. Blood red tears were streaming all down his skull, his left eye glowed like a scarlet star.

_Edge wanted to. He wanted to so badly._

_The one person he had been right about, the one person who he had given a chance._

_The one person who was responsible._

_But he couldn't._

Jamie knew he wanted to.

Jamie hadn't lied to anyone here.

But Jamie had misled them all. Jamie had withheld what they knew.

Because they wanted to be friends.

And they'd ruined it all.

The blaster vanished in a cloud of dust.

Edge looked away.

_'get out of my sight.'_

Jamie got to their feet without a word.

Sans opened his mouth to speak, but before he could start, Jamie had reached their door and vanished.

It was done.

Finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> But it is the end of something.


	7. Tougher Fights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok.  
> First have some fluff.  
> And then...  
> More angst inbound.  
> That is all I will say.
> 
> Trigger warning: self-harm

Jamie avoided Ink's place for a week. During that time, they went to school, talked with people online, they acted as if nothing had happened.

But every night, they saw Edge's eyes.

And after a week, they couldn't bear it anymore.

They didn't quite know what they did. They opened up their computer.

What had Edge done?

Jamie thought hard.

They remembered.

~

**Blueberry was chasing a butterfly around the meadow. Carrot leaned on the fence, watching him with a contented smile. Ink came outside, sitting next to him.**

**'he seems to be having fun.'**

**Carrot nodded. 'YEAH. THANKS FOR MAKIN' THAT BUTTERFLY, TOO-HE'S NEVER SEEN ONE BEFORE.'**

**Ink smiled. 'hey, it was no problem. i mean-'**

**There was a crash.**

**' hey, guys...little help?'**

**Blueberry was lying underneath, what Ink could only assume to be, Jamie. Blueberry was stretching out a hand, and for a moment, Carrot just grinned.**

**'I AM SORRY BROTHER, BUT I FEAR THIS IS YOUR END.'**

**Blueberry glared at him with mock rage.**

**'noooo! my one weakness! having things fall on** **me.' He shifted. 'seriously though guys, it's starting to hurt. i'm worried my spine's going to break.'**

**Carrot's eye glowed orange, and he waved a hand.**

**Blueberry and Jamie flew apart from each other, settling down gently on the grass. Blueberry grinned and leapt to his feet, jogging over to Jamie. He held out a hand, but Jamie waved it away.**

'Thanks, but I'm fine. I'm...'  **They hesitated, then got to their feet, and giving Blueberry a warm smile.**

'Thank you for...not hating me.'

**Blueberry looked shocked.**

**'hate you?! why would i hate you?'**

'Y-you know...being behind...this whole mess.'  **Jamie seemed genuinely struck. Blueberry just kept looking shocked.**

**'did you think they were real people and monsters being killed?'**

**Jamie hugged themselves, and looked down.**

'N-no...no I...I didn't...'

**Blueberry smiled. 'well then, it's fine! it was a mistake, that's all! people make mistakes!'**

**Ink looked at Carrot. Carrot glowed like a proud parent, and Ink suspected that he and Blueberry both agreed on this matter. Ink himself could also agree...he understood that it was a mistake, but he couldn't just dismiss the fact that Jamie was responsible, no matter which way it was looked at.**

**Such stuff reminded him of someone.**

**His attention was drawn to the sound of crying. Looking over, he saw Blueberry had wrapped Jamie in a tight hug. Tears were splashing down Jamie's cheeks and onto Blueberry.**

'I-I'm so s-s-sorry I'll n-never t-touch any k-kind of F-FIGHT option ev-ever ag-g-gain...'  **Their words slipped away into sobs. Blueberry gently guided them down onto the ground, and as they sat, Carrot walked over, wrapping his long arms around them both.**

**Well...it was good to see they did genuinely know what they had done.**

**After a few minutes, Jamie had calmed down, and just snuggled in the brothers' arms. Ink hated breaking the scene up, but he felt he needed to have a few words with Jamie.**

**'jamie?'**

**Jamie looked up.**

**'can i have a word with you?'**

~

 Jamie closed the door of the lodge behind them and turned to face Ink. Ink gestured. A table and two chairs materialised.

**'please.'**

Jamie took to seat nearest to them, and sat down. Ink sat down in front of them. They were exactly at eye level with each other.

'So...what do you want to know?'

Jamie's voice wasn't angry, it wasn't accusatory, it wasn't depressed. It was factual, as if they were doing nothing more than two machines exchanging data.

**'i guess...well, how did you destroy the timelines?'**

Jamie looked Ink in the eyesocket.

'I played the videogame Undertale, and then I found that other people had made different versions of it. I played them, and I was experimental. I did a genocide route. The world was destroyed.'

Jamie's eyes sharpened. 'I didn't do a genocide route with Undertale because I had grown fond of the characters. And I guess I felt that these fan-made versions were not the TRUE ones, so I didn't need to feel guilty about killing them.'

Something caught.

'I...I've never been more wrong about something in my life. N-no matter i-if something is m-made like that, they're just as im-important as t-the originals. S-someone put their heart and s-soul into m-making these alternate v-versions of them, and they are no less alive.'

Their eyes prickled. Jamie put their hands over their eyes and wiped something away. Ink didn't press.

**'so, it was-'**

'As I said, it wasn't an accident. I knew that I was killing them...I just never knew it was really happening out there-that they were really dying.'

The sharpness was back in Jamie's eyes. Ink couldn't tell which way the sharpness faced, towards him, or back onto Jamie?

**'...if you had known that-'**

'I would've stopped then and there.'

Ink nodded.

**'...yeah...i believe you...'**

'Can I ask you something?'

Ink tilted his skull.

'How did you guys find out it was me?'

Ink thoughtfully stroked his jaw.

**'well, first of all, we were right about tracing the code to the user. the user, who had power over someone in our world, would be using the code to execute the events that would destroy the world.'**

**'but...well, i guess we kinda forgot about it when edge tried to kill you. you didn't seem like a rampaging murderer to us, so...'**

Jamie perked up. 

'Oh! Speaking of which, is Edge doing okay?'

Ink shook his skull.

**'i haven't seen him since you left. he went back home that night without a word to any of us.'**

'Oh...okay...' Jamie looked crestfallen.

**'hoping to talk to him?'**

'I was more hoping I could apologise. He was the most vulnerable out of all of us, and I hurt him the most.'

Ink made a face.  **'kid, you didn't mean to hurt him. it's not like you fought back.'**

'He told me I was his friend. And then a minute later I told him I was the person he'd been looking for this whole time.'

**'it's not your fault he's emotionally vulnerable like that.'**

'I know...but I definitely didn't help.'

Jamie sighed. 'Can I at least go to talk to him?'

Ink shrugged.  **'there's nothing stopping you...and honestly i had been thinking about it myself...but i maybe wouldn't recommend it. he didn't exactly leave in a good mood.'**

'Maybe not...' Jamie bowed their head. 'Okay then, sorry, how else did you realise it was me?'

**'well, we already had that pretty strong evidence, but it was, for me at least, the way you acted. you told us nothing about yourself.'**

Ink leaned closer.

**'but it was also the way you reacted when blue told you. that really gave it away. speaking of which, how come you only seemed scared then?'**

Jamie looked away. They shivered. They looked back at Ink.

'It was Alphys. When she took me, she told me everything.'

Ink looked confused.

'When Alphys brought me back, there was an anomaly in the timeline. Everyone keeping an eye on it felt it or saw it. She ran some tests on me to confirm it, and then she began torturing me for what I'd done.' Jamie looked at their forearms. Ink looked too. 

Jamie was wearing shorter sleeves today, and the two hole-like scars were now clearly visible. Ink was honestly amazed he had missed them before.

As if reading his mind, Jamie smiled sheepishly.

'I didn't want you guys to see them before. When Alphys told me I was a murderer, I didn't know what she was talking about, but then she told me about the timelines she'd seen broken. I realised. She told me she would keep an eye on me, and let me go.'

Jamie shifted.

'I didn't know if I should tell you guys. I wanted to help, and I'd signed on in good faith that I would help you in many grand voyages and adventures. And then to find out it was me...I wanted to be honest, but I also thought you'd hate me. Or kill me.'

Jamie laughed slightly.

'Sounds silly, doesn't it? I should've trusted you guys more, and then maybe Edge wouldn't have been hurt so badly.'

**'kid, i don't think it's silly. you didn't know us, and edge HAD already tried to kill you. i'm not surprised you withheld it.'**

'Thanks Ink. I still feel guilty, I won't stop feeling guilty, but I am really relieved that you guys don't hate me.'

Ink smiled. He held out a fist.

**'friends?'**

Jamie stared. They looked up at Ink, and then fist-bumped. A genuinely happy chuckle escaped their lips.

'Friends.'

~

Sans didn't know what to think when he and Papyrus came through the door and saw Ink, Blueberry, Carrot and Jamie chasing each other around the meadow, all of them armed with a vial of black ink.

It seemed they were trying to splatter each other with the stuff. 

Jamie laughed and drenched Carrot in the stuff. Carrot stood stock still, and Blueberry ran over to him in concern. Carrot then proceeded to shake himself like a dog and splatter Blueberry, and despite the distance, Sans and Papyrus. Carrot shook with laughter, and Blueberry upended his vial of ink over him in retaliation.

'bro, duck.'

Sans and Papyrus both ducked, shielding themselves behind their clothes as Carrot shook himself again. The volume of tiny ink droplets that flew through the air like bullets was incredible. Sans felt them raining down on his hoodie.

He waited a minute before peeping out from behind his hoodie. The four of them were on the ground, laughing, and Papyrus was on his feet next to him, his cloak covered in black.

'OH NO! NOW I HAVE TO CLEAN THESE AGAIN...'

Sans chuckled. Ink looked over at them, smiling.

**'hi guys! you were just a bit too late-we had an ink fight.'**

Sans gestured to his hoodie and to Papyrus' cloak. 'we are aware. it's literally here in black and white...or maybe blue. and red.'

Ink laughed, and waved a hand. The ink extracted itself from everyone's clothes, and flowed upwards through the air, dispersing into the sunlight.

'so kid, you're back?' Sans smiled, perhaps a little forcibly, at Jamie.

Jamie nodded, looking a little guilty.

'Y-yeah...is that...ok?'

Sans shrugged.

'we got the message out to the other sanses. we basically stopped it happening again, so there's no reason for you to not be here.' He winked. 'not that we'd be able to stop the one with the power to destroy timelines anyway.'

Jamie gave him a hurt look.

'That wasn't in good taste, Sans.'

Sans shifted. 'sorry kid.'

Jamie looked away. 'I-'

'kid i know you're sorry. we've all forgiven you, ok?'

Jamie looked at him, and then around them all.

'You...have?'

They all nodded. Jamie's eyes began to fill with tears again.

'I...th-thank you...thank you...'

And they all pulled Jamie into a group hug as they began to cry again.

~

'So, what's everyone been up to?'

They were gathered on the grass outside the lodge, watching the sunset. They were all lying on their backs except for Blueberry, who rested his head on Carrot's ribcage and occasionally sat upright if a cloud shifted into view or a bird flew past. Sans shifted to look at Jamie, who was gazing absently at the sky.

'well, me and paps've just been doing normal stuff.'

 'IT HAS INDEED BEEN NORMAL FOR US! I AM HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF PROGRESS IN CEMENTING MONSTERS ALONGSIDE HUMANS!'

Jamie smiled. 'That's really good to hear, Orange.'

Papyrus glowed. Sans smiled.

'How about you, Ink?

**'well...i've just been going to other worlds and preparing them.'**

Jamie shifted to look at him. Sans followed their gaze.

'Has that been going okay?'

Ink nodded.

**'there's no way i'd be able to get the message to every sans out there, but i got it to enough of them to spread the message around. we don't need to worry about timelines vanishing anymore.'**

'That...is a very good thing.'

Jamie's smile was both happy and sad. Sans reminded himself that Jamie still felt guilty. A part of him wanted to shake Jamie out of it, but he knew it wouldn't work. They'd get over it in the end, anyway.

'You guys? Blueberry and Carrot? What's been going on with you?'

** 'EH...WE'VE JUST BEEN GETTING ON AS NORMAL.' **

** 'though we do come here a lot! ink is always very nice!' **

**'pff...well...'**

Sans looked at Ink. Even with the coming darkness of night, his inky blush could still be made out.

**'i mean...this place'd be kinda empty without you guys...'**

**'BLUEBS HERE LOVES THIS PLACE.'**

Blueberry nodded vigorously. 

** 'it's so pretty!' **

Sans had to agree. He looked back up at the sky. Dusk was beginning to wash over them. It was very pretty.

Jamie hesitated.

'And, er...how have Lust and Pole been?'

There was a pause.

 **'i haven't seen lust since you left. and...'** Ink and Jamie sat up, turning to face each other. Ink looked uncomfortable.

**'well...pole came here yesterday...he seemed very worried.'**

'Why? Is something wrong?'

**'well, he said lust hadn't come out of his room all week. barely even spoke anymore.'**

Sans rolled over so he could see them more clearly. Jamie was looking concerned, their tongue wetting their lips.

Ink put a hand on Jamie's shoulder.

 **'i'm sure he's fine, jamie. pole said it wasn't the first time. he'll come out eventually.'** Ink squeezed Jamie's shoulder, and then stood up.

**'erm...it's getting late...do you guys want to stay here tonight?'**

Blueberry perked up immediately.

**'yespleaseyespleaseyespleaseyespleaseyesplease-'**

**'THAT'D BE GREAT, INK. THANKS.'** Carrot held Blueberry back by the cape, and chuckled.

Ink beamed, and looked at Jamie. Jamie smiled. 'If there's an invitation, then sure!'

Ink beamed again, and turned to Sans and Papyrus. 

'course! sounds great to me!'

'I WOULD LOVE TO!'

Ink flushed, his smile stretching so wide it threatened to leave his skull.  **'right then! if you could come this way, then...'** Ink stepped inside his lodge. Waiting until everyone was there with him, he waved a hand. Mattresses, blankets and pillows appeared out of thin air, landing with soft 'pflump' noises. Blueberry pounced onto one.

** 'wow! this is so...' **

His voice trailed off as he flopped over, fast asleep. Jamie and Papyrus both stared, and Ink looked worried.

**'i-i didn't mean to make them sleep INDUCING, i-'**

Carrot held up a hand.

** 'HE ALWAYS DOES THAT. IF HE FINDS SOMETHING COMFY, AND HE'S TIRED ENOUGH, HE'LL FALL ASLEEP EXACTLY LIKE THAT.' **

'You mean...THAT quickly?'

** 'YUP.' **

Jamie made an impressed noise.

'I wish I could fall asleep that fast.'

Sans shrugged. 

'heh, kid, i betcha i can fall asleep faster than that.'

True to his word, Sans picked a mattress, stood directly at the head of it before flopping forwards onto his face and almost immediately falling asleep.

~

He was only woken by the sound of rustling. 

Now, Sans was a heavy sleeper. He imagined after he fell asleep, Papyrus would've spent ten minutes calling him a lazybones and apologizing to the others.But that was because it was normal. That was expected.

This rustling was not.

As silent as death, Sans opened his eyesockets and looked around the lodge, just in time to see a shadow close the open front door, cutting out the early morning light.

Jamie's bed was empty.

~

Jamie had almost reached the pink door when they heard someone behind them. They whipped around.

Nothing.

Their heart beating a little quicker, they turned back to the door.

'sup kiddo.'

Sans stood between them. Jamie froze.

'H-hi S-Sans.'

Sans looked at them. The smile on his face looked as fake as plastic. He turned, casually surveying the door, before facing Jamie again.

'oh sorry, i didn't interrupt anything, did i?'

Jamie was blushing.

Sans took a step forwards. Somehow he felt like he was towering over them.

'kid...'

Jamie took a step backwards.

Sans sighed. He looked away.

'...i ain't gonna stop ya.'

Jamie's brow furrowed.

'You're...not?'

Sans chuckled.

'kid, it's real early in the morning. i seem to be too tired.' He leaned forward, his smile becoming a little more genuine...and concerned.

'but...it's a funny world in there. if you get in trouble, get back here asap. k?'

Jamie nodded.

'Don't worry, I plan to...I just can't leave them like that.'

Sans nodded in understanding. He took a step to the side, clearing the way for Jamie.

'i'm rootin' for ya, kiddo.'

~

The cavern Jamie entered was wide. It was filled with the gentle sound of running water. Against the wall were crystals-hundreds, even thousands, all glowing a soft hue of pink or purple.

It was a definite copy of the cavern in Edge's world, but a much nicer copy.

Jamie tried to remember the way he'd went with Edge and the others. They didn't remember seeing a place where people could live, so they decided that the opposite direction would be correct.

There it was-the corridor of stone leading away from the volcanic cavern they remembered in Edge's world.

Jamie took a deep breath and set off.

As the cavern got colder and colder, Jamie wished they'd brought a jacket. Instead, they were just there in a black shirt and trousers, with their black school shoes on. They walked to the end of the cavern, and it was then the snow hit them.

Literally. A wall of snow came toppling off of the cavern roof and nearly buried them.

Jamie kicked the snow off of them, glaring up at the roof.

To their surprise, something looked back at them.

'OH MY GOD ITS A DOG!' Jamie bellowed. 

The dog was rather large, maybe up to Jamie's thighs, and covered in snow-white fur. It was looking down at Jamie with what Jamie could swear to be a knowing smile.

'You did that deliberately, didn't you.' The dog barked, and Jamie knew, somehow, it was saying yes.

'Bad boy.'

Immediately, the dog's expression dropped. A miserable whine came forth, so sad that Jamie was startled.

'O-okay, I'm sorry, you're THAT bad a boy.'

The dog perked up again, wagging its tail. Jamie shook their head.

'My my, you're an intelligent one, though.'

The dog barked a sound like a laugh, and then, without warning, leapt off of the roof. Jamie was about to yell and catch them when the dog spread it's four legs and began to  _fly._ Jamie stared at the absurd sight as the dog flew forwards, did a mid-air pirouette, before gliding down beside Jamie. It promptly yipped a greeting and stood itself up on Jamie's leg.

Jamie reached down and petted it, still gawping.

'Well...well...well! Clever boy!'

It was honestly all Jamie could think of saying. They were about to stop and continue moving when the dog yipped again and dashed off. Jamie called after them, but then a few seconds later the dog emerged from behind a nearby tree, a stick clasped in its mouth.

'For me?' The dog gave a muffled bark. Jamie smiled, and took hold of the stick. The dog let go as soon as it was sure Jamie's grip on it was secure.

Jamie examined the stick.

It was surprisingly beautiful. There were no branches or leaves coming off of it, and it seemed to have been gently moulded into on object that, when held, felt like a natural extension of Jamie's arm. It just felt...right. Along its length there was a spiral cut, going from the very top, and spiralling down to a point at the stick's bottom. There, the cut tapered out to smooth wood, that felt perfect as a handle.

Jamie entertained a possibility that this stick was meant to be some kind of mystical weapon, before putting the thought somewhat out of their mind. Such a thing wouldn't just be behind a tree. But it was much nicer having a reliable, comforting, and solid object in their hand.

Jamie leaned down and stroked the dog.

'Do you have a name?'

The dog shook its head. Jamie thought.

'I'm going to call you Toby, if that's okay.'

Toby leapt up into the air, and barked happily. Jamie grinned.

'Awesome! Now, Toby...' Toby stilled, ears pricked.

'Can you lead me to where Lust lives?'

Toby barked, and took off. Jamie laughed, and took off after it.

As they ran after Toby's sleek form, which almost disappeared into the snow a few times, Jamie thought that this was all incredibly convenient. But then, they thought, it was also incredibly lucky, and they weren't going to question it.

A few minutes later, they saw Toby had stopped. Catching up, they saw that they were on the edge of a town.

'This is where Lust lives?'

Toby barked a 'yes'.

Jamie began to shiver, the excitement of the run fading.

'W-well, m-m-maybe w-we can ask-k-k-k-k-k one of-f-f-f t-the p-people who live-ve here f-f-for direc-c-c-ctions?'

Toby didn't run off, instead hanging back, walking at Jamie's side.

There was a house close by, which looked to be residential. Jamie walked over and knocked on the door.

'Ex-c-c-cuse m-me, d-do y-you know w-here S-s-sans l-lives-s-s?'

The door opened. The figure inside couldn't be seen.

'You want to try down Grillby's. If he ain't there then you can get directions from the barkeep.'

'Th-th-thank-k-k y-y-you.'

Jamie hurriedly moved off into the town.

It didn't take long to find the place. A sign made of giant, neon pink lights hung over a snug looking place called 'Grillby's Strip Pub.'

Well, this WAS called Underlust, Jamie reasoned. They hurried over to the door. 

'Come on, Toby.' They opened the door wide enough for Toby to get in, before opening it wider and letting themselves in. Jamie closed the door hurriedly-it was SO NICE to be out of that cold.

Inside, the place looked kinda nice. There were only a few things that made Jamie uncomfortable. The main one was the kinky outfits everyone wore, which accentuated their 'attractive' parts, while not actually revealing them. The second was the alluring/sexual looks that everyone gave everyone else. The third was the poles over on the far side of the bar: three poles, clearly used for strip-dancing. There was someone on the nearest pole, dancing erotically. The people close by were shouting lewdly and trying to thrust money into the areas of clothing that Jamie imagined were close to the dancer's private areas. They shuddered and focused on the bar.

The barkeep was a being made entirely of flames. After Jamie blinked a few times to get themselves used to this fact, they studied them. The being seemed male, with healthy, orange flames, and a large wisp of fire over his head (which seemed to emulate hair) was tipped with a startlingly neon-blue streak. He was weating what Jamie could only describe as a fishnet vest, showing off the (somehow) muscular physique beneath. Jamie had to admit, he had an attractive look about him.

The barkeep was watching the dance, but as Jamie got closer, the barkeep looked away, dead into their eyes.

His flames rustled. There was a voice.

'Oh look. A newcomer. Wonder what you'll say to me, eh? Why don't you just bugger off?'

Jamie raised an eyebrow.

'That's a little unfriendly, don't you think? You don't even know me.'

The barkeep started. The flames in his head tinged crimson.

'O-oh, you...you, er...understood me...' He awkwardly rubbed his neck. 'That's, erm...awkward...'

Jamie leaned in closer. 'Do...people usually not understand you?'

'U-usually, no. I mean...' His fiery blush intensified. 'I mean, Sans normally does, but-'

'Wait, you know Lust?'

The barkeep seemed confused. 'Erm...is...that a nickname...you have for him?'

Jamie thought about it. 'It's...complicated...I know him as Lust, but, I guess you'd all know him as Sans.'

The barkeep looked...distressed? confused? Jamie shook themselves.

'Sorry, but do you know where he lives? I need to see him.'

Instantly, the barkeep darkened. His flames became quieter. They hissed like a snake.

'And why would you want to know that?'

Jamie felt very uncomfortable. They looked around, and suddenly realised that the club had fallen silent. 

Everyone was looking at the two of them.

The barkeep spoke again. 'If you mean to harm him in any way...' The barkeep put a finger onto the bar. Where his finger touched the wood, there was a sizzling sound, and smoke rose. Jamie felt sweat on their brow. They imagined that on their skin, the flesh sizzling, a hole appearing, burrowing downwards...

'OH! JAMIE!'

There was a hand on Jamie's shoulder. Jamie started and looked up into Pole's beaming face. The barkeep, equally startled, took a step back, his flames becoming bright and crackly again.

'You...know this guy, Papyrus?'

Pole nodded.

'YUP! THEY'RE A FRIEND OF MINE AND SANS!'

Both the barkeep and Jamie relaxed. Jamie looked at Pole.

'Pole...Papyrus...you have no idea how happy I am to see you.'

The barkeep was turning crimson again.

'I AM HAPPY TO SEE YOU TOO! COME ON, I'M GOING HOME.'

Jamie was just turning when the barkeep tapped them on the shoulder. After the initial shock and checking for burns, they turned.

The barkeep was blushing even more crimson than before.

'I, er...I'm sorry about...threatening you like that.'

Jamie, despite themselves, smiled. They understood.

They leaned forwards so only the barkeep could hear.

'Don't worry, I understand. You're a good friend of his, you were just being protective.' They winked. 'Sans is lucky to have a HOT guy like yourself care about him.'

They joined Pole and left the pub. As Jamie closed the door, they could have sworn they saw the barkeep laughing.

'Erm, Pole...who was that?'

'OH, THAT'S GRILLBY. HE AND SANS ARE GOOD FRIENDS.' Pole sighed. 'DID HE THREATEN YOU WITH IMMOLATION, TOO?'

'Kiiiinda...' Jamie had to jog slightly to keep pace with Pole. Toby however bounded along beside them with no problem. Pole looked sadly at them.

'SORRY ABOUT THAT. HE GETS WORRIED ABOUT SANS WHEN HE'S NOT AROUND OFTEN, AND IF PEOPLE ASK TO SEE HIM HE IMMEDIATELY MISTRUSTS THEM UNLESS THEY'RE A FRIEND.' Pole made a face. 'AND WE DON'T HAVE MANY OF THOSE.'

'Well, you got me, you got Orange...' Jamie listed off the names of the other group members. With each name, Pole's cheekbones flushed pinker. 

'WELL...I SUPPOSE WE DO HAVE YOU ALL...'

Jamie smiled. They were about to reply when Pole turned.

'OKAY! HERE WE ARE!'

Jamie looked around the house. It had a nice exterior, but they didn't get to take in many of the details before Pole was pulling them inside.

'I'M AFRAID I HAVE TO GO WORK FOR A LITTLE BIT. PLEASE MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME. THERE'S COFFEE AND SUCH IN THE KITCHEN.' Before Jamie had a chance to react, Pole had closed and locked the door. Jamie caught sight of him walking away through the window.

Something about this didn't feel right...

And then it hit them. Pole had to work...he was a stripper and a prostitute...and this place was full of horny monsters...

Pole had gotten them safely inside his house and made sure that Jamie wouldn't be put at risk.

Jamie felt a swell of gratitude for Pole, which was stained somewhat by the fact that Pole was still out there. Jamie didn't want Pole out there, doing all that sexual stuff. They wanted him here, safe.

But...there wasn't much they could do. Jamie sighed.

They knew Lust was up in their room. There was no sound coming from it, though, and Jamie wasn't sure how to approach. 

Oh! Coffee!

Jamie hurried into the kitchen, a plan to surprise Lust with coffee forming.

They just had to be quiet.

They managed to find everything, and put together as good a brew as they could.

And then they hit a problem.

Did Lust have sugar?

They put a hand over their mouth as they surveyed the perfect cup of unsweetened black coffee before them.

Oh well. They could just tell him he was sweet enough, and if he needed sugar it wouldn't be hard to put some in.

Smiling, Jamie carefully took hold of the mug, and silently traipsed up the stairs.

They were halfway along the landing to Lust's room, when they heard a groan.

They stopped.

Could skeletons...? No, it was ridiculous. Maybe he was just groaning from the exertion of getting out of bed? Or depression?

Jamie had gone through depression. They remembered wanting to cry, to pour their heart out and have someone hug them, to tell them it was okay, and feeling alone because they couldn't. And then the urge to remove the pain in their chest by slitting their throat. 

Jamie had a flashback of the knife trembling in their hands. They remembered the warm trickling down their neck.

They shook the memory off.

Self-harm and suicide were never the answer. And they were here now, with a coffee and an open mind. If Lust was awake, maybe he could talk.

Jamie walked over to the door.

Another groan. And this time, it sounded strained.

Jamie hoped they weren't going to walk in on something, otherwise it'd be REALLY awkward. They weren't going downstairs, because then the coffee would get cold, and no longer be perfect. They braced themselves and opened the door.

At first, their fear was realised. Lust was facing away from them, a hand on his crotch. Jamie sighed to themselves, and was about to look away when they saw something gleaming.

It was a blade.

For an indeterminate amount of time, Jamie just stood, the sight hammering through them.

And then the mug was falling, and they were running, and Lust was turning, and then Jamie was slapping the blade out of his hands and seizing his shoulders, and they were yelling at him, and they didn't know what they were yelling and Lust looked  _so helpless._

And then Jamie's brain caught up with them, and they stopped yelling, and they looked closer.

Lust's skull was stained with tears. Long tracks came from his eyesockets, flowing downwards onto his jaw, into his mouth. Jamie tracked the path of the tear tracks, until they looked down.

'Lust...what have you been doing?'

It was a rhetorical question. They could see  _exactly_ what he'd been doing. A small wave of nausea went over them.

Lust made a whimpering sound. Jamie looked him in the eyesockets. More tears were spilling out of his eyesockets, and he was shaking. His eyelights flickered over to where the knife had landed, and Jamie released him, strode over to it, picked it up and flung it out the window.

'No. No, you're not getting that back.' 

Lust whimpered more, a truly pitiful noise that held no emotion but desperation. Jamie took a hold of him and guided him over to his bed. Lust moved like he had no more energy inside them, and allowed Jamie to push him down onto the bed in a sitting position. Jamie wrapped their arms around him, and with that, the last of Lust's guards went down, and he began to wail.


	8. New Allies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so last chapter was angsty at the end.
> 
> And yes, in this story I am following the script that skeletons can form organs and body parts using their magic, just to clarify.
> 
> I promise, things'll start looking up.
> 
> Soon.
> 
> Also, there is singing in this chapter-if you click on the link, please just imagine a change in singer. (You'll know what I mean when you get to it.)

Pole closed the door behind them, leant against it, and sank in a heap onto the floor.

He was exhausted. His job could...take a lot out of him.

He was about to head into the kitchen when he heard the sobbing.

Lust's bedroom door was open, for the first time in a week.

Was that a good sign?

Pole quietly crept up the stairs. As he got nearer, he could make out that the sobbing was in Lust's voice. His ribcage tightened, but he then reasoned that after a week of isolation, having a good cry was probably a good thing.

He reached the doorway and looked into the room.

Lust and Jamie were sitting on Lust's bed. Lust was leaning against Jamie, so much so that his skull almost rested in Jamie's lap. Jamie had their arms wrapped around Lust's ribcage, tightly, securely.

Pole wasn't entirely sure if Jamie was holding Lust like that to comfort him, or to keep him in place.

He looked down.

He saw that his brother's trousers were open.

He glimpsed-

He turned away, a hand over his mouth. He felt like he'd just been thrown into Snowdin's ice river. He fought the wave of nausea that washed over him.

He felt ill.

So that was what his brother had been doing all this time?

Pole was suddenly overwhelmingly happy that Jamie had come. Pole would've treated this as just any other period of depression, and leave Sans to mull it over himself. Of course he wanted to help, but every time he had tried to beforehand Lust had pushed him away.

The one time he decides to follow his brother's wishes...

Pole pinched his nasal bone. There was an ache rising there.

Come on, now. Time to go in there. Time to find out the truth.

~

Jamie looked up when they heard Pole's footsteps. They smiled sadly at Pole, who gave a strained smile back. Lust stirred, his legs moving, trying to hide what was between them. Pole looked at him, an expression of knowing on his skull.

'BROTHER...I KNOW...' Gently, Pole reached down, and prised his legs apart. 'DON'T HIDE IT. IT'LL HURT MORE.'

Pole looked at Jamie. 'JAMIE, COULD YOU GET GRILLBY PLEASE?'

Instantly, Lust's legs were bunched up, hiding what he'd done. Jamie saw the pain in both the brother's eyes, but could think of nothing to say but 'OK.'

Pole nodded a thanks. Jamie took off, hurrying down the steps and running out into the snow.

They cast their mind back...Pole had walked them...from there! Jamie tore down the street, their skin prickling in the cold. Their teeth began to chatter. 

In the distance, there was a bright light. Jamie narrowed their eyes, trying to pin down what it was. The light seemed to bob about, and it was definitely getting more distant. Jamie began to sprint.

'Grillby!' They managed to call out. Their lungs began to burn from the effort and the cold air that cut their throat like a razor. The light paused.

Jamie saw the streak of blue. Yes, that was Grillby.

They began to slow down, stopping only a few feet in front of the flame monster. They doubled over, gasping for breath. Running in the snow was not a preferred pastime of theirs, especially not when their only protection was a thin shirt that had already become saturated with moisture. Grillby reached out and held their shoulder, looking worried.

'Jamie, right? What's wrong?'

Jamie nodded, and spluttered 'Sans...hurt...c'mon!'

Grillby looked like he wanted more information, but he didn't get it, as Jamie seized the hand on their shoulder and took off towards the house. Having a nice source of heat on the return journey made it a little easier. Jamie ripped the door open, pulled Grillby inside, made a vague gesture upstairs, and sagged against the couch. Grillby hurried over, but Jamie pushed them away, pointing to Lust's room.

'No...I'm fine...go on...go up there...'

Grillby looked for a second like he wouldn't, but then the sob came. Grillby instantly whipped around, staring at the doorway to Lust's room for a second, before racing up the stairs. Jamie gulped in air, and shook themselves. They got up, and walked up the stairs at a brisk pace. By the time they had reached the doorway and entered the room, Grillby was wrapping Lust in a hug, Pole was holding both of them together, and Lust's sobs were beginning to quiet down.

Jamie let out a breath they hadn't realised they were holding.

'...h...hey...'

Grillby looked down at Lust, his flames instantly firing up. 

'Yes?'

Lust's eyesockets were still closed, but he nuzzled deeper into Grillby's hold, his skull resting on Grillby's shoulder.

'...you're...real comfy...'

And then, the snores came.

...

For what felt like an hour, the three of them just stared at Lust. Jamie would not have been at all surprised if they all shared an identical thought. 

'OH...MY...GOD...'

Pole broke the silence. His voice was a whisper, but it was obvious he was trying very hard to not burst out laughing. Grillby had frozen in place, like a flaming statue, and Jamie had to bite their lip to stop themselves from laughing too.

'Are...you okay there, Grillby?'

Grillby's expression was hard to read, but Jamie imagined it would've been a mixture of indecision and humour. He remained still for a moment, and then looked down at Lust's sleeping skull. The flames became more lustrous, full of colour.

'I'm...very good, thanks.' Grillby tilted his head and leaned it down, resting it on top of Lust's skull. 'You guys go, if you want to...I got this.'

Pole visibly relaxed, smiling in relief. 'IF YOU'RE SURE...THANKS.' He gestured to Jamie. 'COME ON, LET'S GET SOME COFFEE GOING.'

~

'How come you were so eager to leave, Pole?'

Pole turned to Jamie, a curious expression on his skull. He thought about it for a moment, casting a glance upstairs, and then leaned in close.

'I HAPPEN TO KNOW THAT LUST RATHER FANCIES GRILLBY.'

Jamie let that soak in.

Well, that did explain a few things.

'Does...Grillby like him back?'

Pole glanced upstairs again.

'I HAVEN'T BEEN SURE. THEY'VE BEEN GOOD FRIENDS FROM...WELL, THE DAY WE ARRIVED REALLY, BUT I HAVEN'T KNOWN FOR CERTAIN IF THE FEELING WAS MUTUAL. WELL, UNTIL NOW.'

Jamie was fairly confident they knew what Pole was talking about, but they pressed anyway. 'Why is that?'

'GRILLBY KNEW THAT YOU WERE AT LEAST AN ACQUAINTANCE OF LUST, SO WHEN YOU TOLD HIM HE WAS HURT HE WOULD TRUST YOU ENOUGH TO FOLLOW, OR AT LEAST TO NOT RESIST. THEN, SEEING HIM IN...'

Pole blinked. The sight swam in Jamie's vision, too. Both of them shuddered at the memory.

'...IN THE STATE HE IS IN, GRILLBY WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACT ON ANY FEELINGS HE HAD FOR LUST. EVEN IF HE HAD NO FEELINGS, HE COULD AT LEAST RECIPROCATE HIS FRIENDSHIP. AND THIS WAY...'

Pole winked.

'...ANY POSSIBLE CHANCE OF THE TWO KINDLING A RELATIONSHIP WILL BE HEIGHTENED IMMENSELY.'

Jamie gawped.

That...was possibly the most sneaky, manipulative and cunning thing Jamie had ever heard. 

Pole was an amazing brother.

 The cup in Jamie's hand dipped slightly, and the hot liquid within trickled onto Jamie's fingers. Jamie hissed, and righted the mug. They didn't want to break any more of these guys' china.

Pole took the mug from Jamie, and held their fingers tenderly.

'DO YOU WANT TO RUN THOSE UNDER THE TAP?'

Jamie shook their head, smiling.

'You are such a good person, Pole.'

Pole's eyesockets widened, and then he took a step back, a pink flushing his cheekbones.

'HEH...W-WELL, I TRY TO BE...'

'You are, Pole.' Jamie was suddenly serious. Despite everything, despite having a job that forced him to act as a sex object, to be observed, used and discarded, he still held that compassion, that concern, that selflessness. Jamie didn't want Pole to lose that goodness. They needed to say so. 'Don't ever forget that, ok?'

Pole looked down at the floor, a sheepish grin growing on his face, his blush deepening in colour.

Jamie allowed a moment for the message to sink in, before asking 'So, what's the plan now?'

Pole's grin became mischievous.

'WELL...WE COULD GO TO BED AND GIVE THEM THEIR PRIVACY.'

Jamie nodded.

'Or...?'

'WE COULD STAY UP AND EAVESDROP.'

'Let's stay up and eavesdrop.'

'GOOD IDEA.'

And that is how Jamie and Pole found themselves huddled outside Lust's bedroom, mugs of coffee in hand, pillows propped against the wall, ears flat against the wall, until 3 in the morning. They only moved when, after intent listening, Jamie sipped their now stone-cold coffee, and nearly spat it out again. Pole hurriedly signalled for a retreat.

Back in the kitchen, Jamie and Pole giggled. They'd heard tender whispers, sounds that were DEFINITELY kissing, and then, near the end, sounds that were LIKE kissing, but that were not. 

It seemed that a relationship was definitely underway.

'THE ONLY HARD PART, I SEE, IS PRETENDING WE DON'T KNOW.'

Jamie nodded.

'Maybe, if we can, we'll have to try and catch them.'

'YOU MEAN, LIKE IF THEY KISS IN THE BAR OR SOMETHING?'

'Yeah. Then we can say we found out that way, and we won't need to pretend.'

It was underhand, but Jamie imagined that if Lust knew that his younger brother had stayed up to listen to him...do relationship things, he'd feel a little more than awkward. Pole couldn't have been happier to silently cheer his brother on, and Jamie had mainly been there to support him (though, it had been kinda fun to envision the events from sound alone).

For now, though, Pole set Jamie up for the night on the couch. Before closing his bedroom door, Pole gave Jamie a conspiratorial wink, which Jamie returned.

The Great Lustby Hunt was on!

~

Sadly, the Great Lustby Hunt was a lot harder than either of them thought. Jamie and Pole frequently thought that they had caught them, but they would always be chatting or some other activity that was just slightly too innocent to call 'relationship-y'. They didn't seem to want to do anything more than usual outside of the house.

In fact, Lust leaving the house at all was a surprise. Pole had woken up as usual, left a note on the kitchen table saying 'Good morning' to Jamie, Lust and Grillby, and had gone to work. When he slipped into the bar later on, both Grillby and Lust were there, like normal. After a few minutes ranting on about 'health' and 'recovery' Lust had reluctantly shown Pole where his wounds had been. 

'THEY WERE HEALED.'

'You mean...just like that?'

'YEAH...NO SCARS OR ANYTHING.'

Jamie and Pole were in the kitchen again. Lust and Grillby were still in the bar, but they'd given up trying to catch them in there because it was simply too public. The two had come home, and Pole had recounted the story to Jamie, who leaned on the sideboard looking confused and amazed.

'That's...wow. Well at least it's all normal again with that.'

THE ONE THING I DON'T GET IS HOW HE EVEN GOT TO THE BAR IN THE FIRST PLACE. GRILLBY TOO, FOR THAT MATTER. IS IT POSSIBLE YOU WERE STILL ASLEEP WHEN THEY LEFT?'

'No...honestly, I was awake when they left.'

'YOU LET HIM GO?'

Jamie looked sheepish.

'He honestly looked much better than yesterday...though, that isn't exactly hard. I mean, he looked perfectly healthy, and Grillby was going there with him. They even woke me up to let me know they were leaving.'

'I'M NOT ANGRY, DON'T WORRY...THOUGH I WOULDN'T SAY NO TO LUST HAVING MORE REST. I JUST WISH THEY'D ASKED ME.'

Jamie smiled regretfully.

'Sorry.'

'OH WELL, HE'S FEELING BETTER. HE'S LOOKING BETTER, TOO. AND WE BOTH KNOW IT WAS A SUCCESS LAST NIGHT.'

The mischievous grin was back. Jamie mimicked it, feeling light and giddy.

~

 Jamie and Pole were not that surprised to see Grillby walking Lust back home, and they leapt on the opportunity to ask him to stay another night. 

'SANS LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER NOW, AND I THINK YOU'RE THE REASON WHY. COME ON, ANOTHER NIGHT CAN'T HURT.'

Grillby thought.

'Okay, but...where do I sleep?'

Don't give it away, don't give it away, don't give it away...

'Why not in Sans' room? It worked last night, and considering he's still recovering it might be good for him.'

'...Okay, okay, I'll sleep with Sans tonight.'

Grillby smiled, and began walking towards the stairs when he suddenly realised what he had just said.

'I-I mean, y'know, as in, in the same room, not, like, as in, actually WITH him-'

He stopped when Pole and Jamie began giggling.

'Grillby...it's fine...we know...EXACTLY...what you mean.' Jamie said between bouts of laughing. Pole was hugging himself, trying not to collapse.

It was so funny because they knew, and it was a struggle to not reveal it, but seeing Grillby, the normally calm and stoic bartender, get so flustered was just brilliant. Grillby's flames became a shade of red around his cheeks, and he continued upstairs, not looking at them. 

Lust and Grillby came downstairs about half an hour later, when Pole announced he was making dinner. Jamie was setting out the cutlery on the living room table. They looked up as the two of them descended the stairs.

THEY LOOKED SO CLOSE TO KISSING JAMIE WANTED TO RUN OVER AND SMOSH THEIR FACES TOGETHER but Jamie didn't because Jamie respected privacy.

Somewhat.

Grillby and Jamie greeted each other with a wave, and Lust sniffed the air.

'woah, bro, that smells amazing.'

Grillby sniffed too.

'Smells like...pie?'

Pole ducked his head out of the kitchen.

'CLOSE. IT'S A QUICHE! I THOUGHT I'D TRY SOMETHING NEW.'

Lust's expression seemed to dry up and flake off. 

'...oh dear...'

Jamie chuckled and shook their head. 'Don't worry, he's been following the recipe VERY carefully. I've made sure of that.' They sniffed. The house smelled of pastry and cheese. Oh god, that was a nice smell.

Lust still didn't look convinced. Pole made an exaggeratedly pained face.

'YOU DO NOT BELIEVE IN MY MASTERFUL COOKING SKILLS, BROTHER? YOU WOUND ME.'

Lust chuckled. 'hey, i never said i wouldn't try it. i'm just prepared.'

Pole raised an 'eyebrow'. 'PREPARED? FOR WHAT? TO HAVE YOUR WHOLE WORLD ROCKED BY MY COOKING?'

Lust shrugged, chuckling again. It was a genuine chuckle, something happy. If Jamie hadn't been there last night, they never would have known Lust had ever taken a blade to himself at all. With a triumphant shout, Pole whipped the quiche out of the oven and split it into four perfectly even slices. With a grace Jamie never knew he possessed, Pole carried all four plates over to the table, placing them down and pulling out the chairs. Somehow, Jamie didn't see his progress halted at all.

'ALRIGHT, YOU TWO. DINNER'S READY!'

Grillby gawped, but Lust just grinned.

'he's always been graceful at stuff like this.'

The two took their seats next to each other.

Jamie fought the desire to SMOSH THEIR ADORABLE SMILES TOGETHER and smiled as Pole sat down next to them.

'Bone appetit!'

Grillby, Lust and Pole stared at Jamie.

And then it was like a glass screen shattered and they all began howling with laughter.

'dammit kid...that was my line...' Jamie laughed along with them, and took a bite of quiche.

Wow. Pole was a GOOD COOK. When he followed the recipe.

~

After dinner, Pole suggested an early night. Grillby and Lust complained, but Jamie said that, considering how much had happened today that was out of the ordinary, more sleep couldn't hurt. It felt a little late for Jamie to go home, so they stayed on the couch again.

Pole wished them a good night, and went to his room. 

Jamie drifted into a contented sleep.

It was disturbed early in the morning by a noise in the kitchen.

It was loud and sharp enough that Jamie shot out of bed, heart hammering, hand grasping the stick that had somehow appeared there.

The flickering light from the kitchen told Jamie it was Grillby. They relaxed, but then curiosity got the better of them. Silently, they got up, and crept over to the doorway, peering in.

Grillby held a bottle of...some kind of alcoholic drink in one hand, the other was clasped around his mouth in shock. Jamie guessed that Grillby had set the bottle down on the table too hard, and caused the noise that woke them up.

What was he doing with alcohol at this time?

Jamie knocked on the door frame, and Grillby started again. He relaxed when he saw Jamie walk into the kitchen.

'Good morning.'

Grillby flushed crimson again.

'S-sorry about that...'

Jamie shook their head, smiling. 'It's fine. Don't worry about it. I'm just curious why you have that.' Jamie pointed at the bottle.

Grillby glanced down, the blush somehow deepening.

'Erm...well, as a flame monster, I er...get my fuel from oxygen and alcohol...and sometimes, if I want to do something more than usual...'

Jamie put a hand on his shoulder. Grillby wasn't wearing anything but his trousers, but his body was pleasantly warm, and surprisingly solid. 

'Grillby...if you don't mind me asking...is there something going on with you and Sans?'

Grillby hesitated a moment, his flames turning a deep crimson all over, before nodding. Jamie let the grin spread over their face.

'Is that why you're drinking this fuel? Are you...burnt out?'

Grillby looked at Jamie, comical disbelief on his face, but he nodded again. Jamie nodded too, in understanding.

'Ok. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone if you don't want me to.'

'That'd be preferable. I was thinking we tell you guys tomorrow.' Grillby looked down at the floor. 'Do...do you think Papyrus will approve?'

Of all the things...

'Grillby...of course he would. I mean, honestly, Pole probably wouldn't refuse anyone who had a genuine interest in his brother, but aside from that, you're thoughtful, you and him understand each other, and you clearly care for him a lot. Remember when we first met?'

Grillby smiled sheepishly and shuffled his feet. 'Yeah...sorry about that...'

Jamie chuckled softly. 'Hey, no problem. It just confirms what I'm talking about.' Jamie squeezed his shoulder. 'I think Pole would be really happy if you and his brother were together. I really do.'

Grillby looked down, and the smile on his face spoke volumes.

'Thank you, Jamie.'

'Anytime.'

~

Jamie woke up early the next morning, and left the house so Grillby and Lust would have Pole alone. They walked to the edge of town, and out of the snow came Toby, wagging its tail. 

Jamie smiled, and hefted the stick they held. 

'You've been gone for a while. Did you teleport?'

Toby barked. Jamie was fairly sure it was saying 'maybe'. Jamie grinned.

'Well, as long as you're okay. I'm sorry if we shut you out of the house, but things happened.'

Toby barked in an understanding way. Jamie ruffled it's fur.

They spent a good deal of time playing fetch, in which Toby always gave the stick back to Jamie without complaint, and then catch, in which Toby would hurl the stick to Jamie, who would catch it with their hands and throw it back to Toby, who would catch it in it's mouth without fail. Jamie felt the same admiration around the dog. It was clearly no ordinary dog, but it was more than that. It wasn't a dog monster. It was something else.

Oh well. As long as it didn't grow laser eyes and try to blow them up, Jamie had no complaint. Toby was a great companion.

After a while, Jamie had to sit down. Toby scampered over, nuzzling into their lap. Jamie held the stick in one hand, the other stroked Toby gently. 

'I might need to go back to town now, Toby.'

Toby looked up, and made a sad whining sound. Its eyes became bigger and shinier.

'Sorry. I mean, you could come with me, if you want. I never said you had to stay here.'

Toby barked. Jamie got a feeling of a barrier in front of them, and understood. 'You're not meant to be in town?'

Toby nodded its head. That explained Toby's sudden absence.

'Well then, I'll come back as soon as possible, don't worry.'

Toby barked again, nuzzling Jamie again, before bounding off of them. Jamie ruffled Toby behind the ear again, before setting off, waving goodbye.

When they opened the door of the house, it was to a scene they didn't quite know how to process. 

Lust and Grillby were both holding pencils, holding them up to their mouths like microphones, and they were singing along to a song that played on the radio. It wasn't a song Jamie recognised, but the two of them were singing their hearts out. They were looking into each other's eyes, and it was 'SO CUTE!!!!!!!'

Instantly, they stopped singing. Grillby's pencil flew through the air and hit the radio, causing it to wobble, and the song to crackle. Jamie made a face. 'Oh, sorry guys, please don't stop.'

Both of them were blushing furiously.

'You were awesome, guys! I didn't know either of you could sing.'

Somehow, the blushes deepened.

And then, an idea came to Jamie.

'Why don't we have a karaoke night at the bar?'

The blushes vanished. Instantly. Instead, Grillby and Sans just froze.

'...a...karaoke night?'

'Yeah! You know, if we get people to go up on stage and just sing something!'

'I...don't know if that would be...'

Grillby paused.

'...I don't know if people would...want to...'

Jamie folded their arms.

'Have you done one before?'

'...No...'

'Well then, might as well try it! If we don't try it, we'll never know what people think.'

Grillby looked as if about to say something, but he stopped. Jamie felt a flash of triumph. It felt good to totally and utterly win over someone.

'...Will you help me organize it, then?'

'Of course I would!'

Jamie grabbed Grillby and Lust by the hands and swept out of the house.

The first thing Jamie suggested was removing the poles. 'If we're going to have a karaoke thing we need somewhere for people to stand.'

'They can stand between the poles, can't they?'

'I know, but there would be more focus on the singer if there are no poles there.'

'Those poles are welded into the ceiling and floor. I literally cannot move them.'

Jamie blushed. 'Ah...right...sorry.'

Grillby waved the apology aside. 'There's space in front of the poles, it'll be fine. The thing I'm worried about is the sound.'

Jamie was thinking of a solution to this as the door opened.

'HELLO? IS THIS PLACE CLOSED?'

Lust smiled. 'nah, it's only closed while we set this place up for tonight.'

'WHAT'S HAPPENING TONIGHT?'

'jamie here thought we could have a karaoke night.'

'OH! THAT DOES SOUND LIKE A GOOD IDEA!'

Jamie smiled. 'We just need some good sound devices. A microphone, for instance.'

Pole perked up. 'A...MICROPHONE?'

'Yeah. You wouldn't happen to know how to get one?'

'ACTUALLY...I THINK I DO.'

~

 Jamie, Lust, Pole and Grillby leaned against the bar, watching the current singer belt out a tune about 'what imma do tonight'. Mettaton, Pole's boyfriend, had been kind enough to lend them some microphones and speakers. Mettaton himself wasn't there, but Pole said he was watching through the camera he'd put in front of the stage. Apparently if anyone's singing was good enough, Mettaton would broadcast it to the Underground, and many monsters had gone up on stage to try and grab the limelight.

So far, none of them had been aired on television.

Every.

Single.

Song.

Was.

About.

Sex.

Jamie wanted to die. 

They'd organised this to try and boost Grillby and Lust's confidence, and they'd even hoped monsters would show abilities that everyone had thought impossible of them.

But it seemed that all the monsters who didn't just focus on and revel in sex could be counted on one hand, and were around them, looking equally disappointed.

The monster's song finished, and everyone applauded, with a few people calling out lewd requests.

But when the monster nodded and reached for their belt, Jamie snapped.

'Okay, nope, off stage sir, thank YOU!' The monster had no time to react as Jamie pushed forwards like a bulldozer. 

Leaving Jamie alone on stage.

'Go on then! Sing!'

The monster who had called out was small and scrawny. It looked at Jamie with a hunger that Jamie had no intention of satisfying.

Instead of retorting, Jamie sighed, and grabbed the microphone.

Well then.

There they were, in the limelight.

Might as well enjoy it.

Jamie took out their phone, and flicked through their music. They signalled to Grillby.

'Can I play a song I know?'

Grillby nodded somewhat uncertainly. Pole however made a motion that seemed to show something being inserted into...Aha!

Jamie turned to the speaker to the right of them. There was a small slot in the side of it. Jamie clicked the link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aatr_2MstrI) brought up the song on their phone, and placed it into the speaker.

The speaker crackled as it adjusted itself to the technology.

And then the music came through.

As the notes drifted through, Jamie focused.

All that was in front of them was the microphone.

And then it was time for the lyrics.

Breathe.

'I've been hearing symphonies...Before, all I heard was silence...'

Breathe.

'A rhapsody for you and me...And every melody is timeless...'

Breathe.

'Life was stringing me along...Then you came and you cut me loose...'

Breathe.

'Was soul-less singing on my own...' breathe '...Now I can't find the key without you.'

'And now your song is on repeat,' breathe 'and I'm dancing on, to your heartbeat...'

Breathe 'And when you're gone, I feel incomplete, so if you want the truth...'

Breathe.

'I just wanna be part of your symphony...'

~

The kid was a beautiful singer. Lust had never heard a voice like that before, and now he didn't want to stop hearing it.

It wasn't a kind of song that was heard down here. Normally the only songs that were sung were about sex. A posh song would include the phrase 'pleasures of the flesh.' But this...this song was about actual love. Love for someone as a person rather than as a pleasure object.

Lust looked back at Grillby.

'Will you hold me tight and not let go?'

Welp...as good a time as any.

'Will you hold me tight and not let go?'

Lust leaned forwards, and kissed Grillby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG TO PUT ROMANCE IN AND OH MY GOD IT FEELS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. I now understand why there is so much smut and fanfic over these guys, and just over Undertale in general.
> 
> Welp, I know I'm trash now.  
> Do I care?  
> HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA  
> Nope.


	9. Theme Music

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that it has taken so long to get this chapter up. Stuff's just been a-happening and I haven't gotten around to it.
> 
> Okay, so now I have introduced Sansby into this, I can make more romance stuff. And just a heads-up, there will be some more music and singing stuff in this: I found some songs that I just think are perfect for some of these characters, and I think it'd be awesome to have them singing. (Yes, they would all be covers of existing songs, because I lack originality in that context).

**Blue stared at the television screen with a goofy grin, Orange, Carrot and Blueberry burst into cheers and applause, and Ink, beaming, joined in.**

**Jamie's song had touched a chord in all of them, but the fact they had sung such a song in Underlust was awe-inspiring. The audience there seemed to agree, as everyone in Grillby's bar had seemingly gotten to their feet and given Jamie a standing ovation. Jamie was grinning and blushing.**

**The icing on the cake, however, was the kiss that Grillby and Lust were still sharing. It was deep and passionate, and the camera had panned to the side so they could be seen clearly.**

**As the applause shook the building, the two parted. They held each other, and even through the screen, Ink could see the tenderness with which they looked at each other. This was clearly a relationship that had been waiting a long time to blossom. Lust looked over at Jamie, then back at Grillby. He said something which went unheard by Ink, but Grillby nodded, and Lust gave him a quick kiss before running over to Jamie.**

**He hugged Jamie, who was laughing, before taking the microphone from their hands.**

'ha...well, folks, what'd you think of jamie?'

**If Ink had thought the audience had been loud before, it was nothing compared to now. Everyone in the club cheered and whooped, clapping even harder than before. Jamie's smile widened, and the blush deepened.**

**Ink looked over at the side of the screen. Grillby was applauding too, his flames bright and deep. If there was a smile on his face, Ink couldn't see, but he could imagine one fairly easily.**

~

It was absolutely insane.

Jamie chuckled nervously as Lust, beaming, handed them the microphone back. Suddenly, everyone was quiet.

Jamie's throat felt very dry all of a sudden.

'Erm...'

They coughed.

'Th-thank you so much for that.'

Jamie smiled, placing the microphone back onto the stand. As they were walking over to the speaker to retrieve their phone, someone called out.

'W-wait! Is that it?'

Jamie hesitated. They looked back. It was the scrawny one from earlier.

It's eyes were much wetter than they had been before.

'Do...you want more?'

'If...that's okay...'

The monster sniffed.

Jamie's heart skipped a beat.

Holy shit. These people wanted more.

Unless...

Jamie smiled, pulling their phone out of the speaker. The monster made a small whining noise, and looked down at the floor. They didn't see Jamie approach.

'Do you want to have a go?'

The monster started, looking back up. A tear was rolling down it's face.

'R-really? B-but I...can't sing...'

Jamie smiled gently. 

'Everyone can sing. It's just a matter of resonance.' Jamie gestured for the monster to come onto the stage.

The monster hesitated before clambering out of it's seat and shuffling onto the stage. The monsters around gave encouraging calls and a polite, cheerful applause broke out. The monster blushed.

Jamie had to lean down to make their eyes level. When they did so, the monster looked down at the floor.

'What resonates with you? What do you feel is important?'

The monster mumbled something.

'Sorry?'

'B-being cool.'

The monster's blush deepened. Jamie smiled again.

'Okay. And how are people cool?'

The monster hesitated. The blush faded slightly.

'I...don't know...'

'Do you think you are cool?'

This time, the answer was almost immediate.

'No.'

'Who do you think is cool?'

The blush deepened again, making the monster look a bit like a radish.

'I...think...you're p-pretty cool...J-Jamie...'

There were some whispers. Jamie caught a few of them. They seemed to agree. 

Now Jamie was blushing, but they smiled deeper.

'Thank you. Now what makes me different to you?'

The monster frowned and looked up.

'How...do you mean?'

'What, to you, makes me cool and you not?'

It was a question Jamie felt wasn't asked enough. People had idols, people always had someone they respected, but when they put themselves down like this it hurt Jamie a little. Jamie knew they weren't perfect. They weren't great at sports and admired people who were, but they didn't want to be a sportsman. It wasn't something that interested them. But people like this monster, people who wanted something but felt inadequate to do so, and doubted themselves, and put themselves down...

If you wanted to be something, you could be, even if you did sometimes need a leg-up. If this monster wanted to sing, then Jamie was going to give them an opportunity.

They took the microphone off of the stand and pressed it into the monster's bony hands. The monster started, and began to shake their head, but Jamie stopped them.

'You want to sing, right? Well, here you go. Sing what you feel is right.'

They took a step back, far enough away to not interfere, but close enough that the monster didn't feel alone.

The monster looked at them with it's large, wet eyes, and smiled.

They took a deep breath.

~

 'I never knew I had so many talented patrons!'

Jamie grinned at Grillby. His flames were burning brightly. 

Lust and Grillby were walking side by side, arms wrapped around each other. They looked contented, looking at each other and smiling fondly. It was almost cliche how they acted.

How long had they wanted this?

How many times had Lust done that to himself?

How many times had one of them wanted to say something and failed?

Jamie didn't care how cliche it was. 

If they were happy, what right had they to judge?

Lust nudged Jamie on the shoulder.

'that was some top-quality singing up there, kid.'

Jamie blushed.

'O-oh...thanks...'

They'd always had a love for singing. For Jamie, the ability to make their voice dance and flutter was a skill that came without great difficulty. They simply enjoyed feeling the muscles in their neck slacken, feeling the air inside of them, rushing out of them, feeling the resonance inside their head. 

Jamie had never thought of themselves as a good singer, not really. It was...nice...to be told you were good. It made them feel warm inside, like they'd just drunken hot chocolate.

 OH! BY THE WAY! METTATON BROADCAST YOUR SONG, JAMIE! AND EVERY ONE AFTER IT!'

The hot chocolate curdled and froze.

'He...he did?'

Jamie looked at Pole. Pole was beaming.

'YES! HE SAID EVEN THE KING AND QUEEN JOINED IN! EVERYONE IN THE UNDERGROUND WHO WASN'T AT GRILLBY'S SAW YOU SINGING!'

If the feeling in Jamie's stomach could possibly be compared to an object, it would probably be a coil of snakes floating in ice water.

'The...k-king and qu-queen?'

Now, Jamie knew who the king and queen were: Asgore and Toriel. During the games they had played, they had met and befriended them. It was...something quite different to know that those people had seen THEM, had listened to THEM.

'INDEED! I THINK THEY WOULD'VE LOVED IT!'

'I...I sure hope so...'

Lust patted Jamie on the back.

'hey kid, if they didn't like it they're missing out.'

Jamie smiled nervously.

'Thanks, Lust.'

~

Jamie wasn't smiling when that night the door was blasted open.

Jamie gripped the armrest of the sofa, twisting themselves backwards over it, and flipping over, hiding behind it. The stick was once again in their hands. Their knuckles turned white, their heart pounding.

Above them, the landing light flicked on, and then Grillby was standing looking over the railing, fire streaming through the air.

In the blaze of light, Jamie stood, stick raised, and looked dead into Ink's eyes.

**'hi!'**

For a second, Jamie just stood agape.

It took a few seconds for them to mentally process what was happening, and then finally, they managed to squeak out a 'Wha...?'

The door was covered in what looked like Indian ink, trickles of the stuff running down into small pools on the carpet. Ink himself was just inside the house, with the widest and happiest grin on his face that Jamie had ever seen.

Then from outside...

** 'ERM...INK? MAYBE KNOCKING WOULDA BEEN BETTER?' **

Jamie nodded.

'I agree with Carrot. You nearly gave me a heart attack.'

**'sorry! but we just HAD to come! you were amazing, jamie!'**

'Er...thanks, but...'

Wait.

How did Ink know...

How had he seen Jamie sing?

Behind Ink, the lofty forms of Carrot and Orange stepped inside. Carrot nodded towards Grillby, who was standing on the landing looking perplexed. Jamie looked up at Grillby and sighed.

'Grillby, don't worry, these are friends of mine, Lust and Pole.' They turned in time to see Blueberry and Blue walk in. Well, Blue walked, Blueberry kinda bounced.

'Grillby, these guys are Ink, Carrot, Blueberry, Orange, and Blue. Guys, Grillby. Grillby, Guys.'

Orange and Blueberry both waved. 'HELLO! IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU, GRILLBY-WITH-BLUE-HAIR!'

Nice...to meet...you...too...'

Grillby seemed a little overwhelmed. Jamie couldn't blame him.

'Grillby, you can go back to bed if you want.' They winked, and smiled. 'Lust might be missing you.'

'well, who wouldn't?'

Jamie was about to say something when Ink bellowed  **'OH MY GOD YES! YOU GUYS ARE TOGETHER! CONGRATS!'**

Lust seemed to freeze.

'wha-what...are ya talkin about?'

**'oh come on! we saw it! when jamie was singing you guys were kissing the hell out of each other! it was adorable!'**

Lust looked a little pale.

**'what's the matter?'**

Ink's grin had slipped. Now he was looking at Lust nervously.

**'did...did you not want us to know?'**

'i...i mean...i know you guys are good but...'

'We would've preferred it if we'd told you ourselves. I, for one, don't know any of you, but...you seem nice, so I'm okay with it.'

Grillby turned to Lust. Lust looked at Grillby.

Grillby took Lust's hand.

'Are you okay with that?'

Jamie swore for a second that Lust's eyelights flickered out, and then returned as hearts.

'yeah. i'm good with it if you are.'

Ink and the others didn't know what Lust had been doing when Jamie arrived. Jamie decided they didn't need to.

As long as Lust was happy. And right now, he and Grillby certainly seemed to be.

'hey, kid. that's a fancy lookin stick ya got there.'

Jamie looked down at it.

'It's a nice one, isn't it?'

'where'd ya get it?'

'Oh, a dog found it. Just gave it to me.'

'ya mean...like dogamy or dogaressa?'

Jamie shook their head. Dogamy and Dogaressa were members of the Royal Guard, or whatever the equivalent was in any universe. They were big, hulking dog monsters, who were trying to win the Nose Nuzzling Championships. They were certainly not Toby.

'It was like a little white dog...maybe up to here?'

Jamie gestured to their thigh. They seemed to remember if Toby stretched its head up to maximum, it would probably just about reach there.

Blue looked thoughtful.

'i wonder...'

Jamie furrowed their brow. They were about to ask Blue what he meant, but then Pole opened his door.

'GUYS? WHAT'S ALL THE RUCKUS? I'M TRYING TO SLEEP.'

It was then that the lateness of the hour seemed to strike Ink.

**'ah. right.'**

Ink turned to the others.

**'guys...i propose a tactical retreat.'**

There were some noises of agreement made. Ink smiled nervously and turned back.

**'sorry about that, guys. but please come by tomorrow! it'd be great to talk to you guys about this.'**

'Sure thing! We'll be there.'

Ink nodded, smiling. He waved a hand, and with a swirl of ink, he and the others vanished.

So did the ink on the door.

Jamie shook their head, smiling, and turned up to the balcony.

'Night night, guys.'

Grillby made a noise that sounded like 'Night.' and walked with Lust back to the bedroom.

'GOODNIGHT, JAMIE. SEE YOU IN THE MORNING.' Pole smiled, and closed his door.

Jamie smiled again, before turning and flopping face-first onto the sofa. They were asleep again within seconds.

~

The next morning, Lust asked Grillby if he wanted to go with them.

'Erm...okay. But...' Grillby waved his hand over his bread, and it instantly toasted. The smell of perfectly toasted bread hit Jamie in the nostrils and made them look at Grillby's breakfast with burning envy.

'Well...what are they like?'

Grillby dropped a small square of butter onto his toast. Jamie watched it melt, mouth watering. The golden liquid oozed outwards, trickling into the tiny dips of the golden brown toast. Jamie's own toast looked pale and soft in comparison, and it tasted of disappointment.

Lust thought.

'well, they're okay. orange, the one who dresses up kinda like a superhero, he makes out like he's real confident and proud, but he's a real softie. blue, his bro, he's real chill. like...fall-asleep-while-standing-up-kinda-chill.'

'Okay...sounds good so far.'

Grillby's plate was within Jamie's reach. Maybe just a pinch...

'carrot and blueberry are kinda like them, just swapped. y'know, so carrot is chill, blueberry is active.'

Jamie took hold of Grillby's toast.

'and then there's edge and boss. you, er...probably won't see em there. edge and boss had a falling out, and then edge and jamie had a bit of a fight, didn't ya...'

Grillby and Lust both looked over to see Jamie halfway through swapping their slice of toast with Grillby's. A nervous chuckle escaped their lips.

'...jamie.'

Jamie nodded, still holding both pieces of toast. A little bit of butter dripped onto the table.

'Yep...we, er...had a little...spat...'

Grillby and Lust were both looking at them with the equivalent of a raised eyebrow. Jamie caught Grillby's eye.

Grillby looked down at his plate, and back to Jamie.

Both made no other movement.

And then in one swift motion, Jamie had thrown their own piece of toast onto Grillby's plate and shoved Grillby's toast into their mouth.

For a second, they felt nothing but the exhilarating triumph of their victory.

And then a second later, tears were running down their face as they discovered the hard way that Grillby liked to have chilli pepper powder on his toast.

'So, what was the spat about?'

Grillby smirked at Jamie as they fought to not reveal their suffering.

'Ih wa kk-' Jamie coughed. A little bit of chilli pepper powder covered abomination flew out of their mouth.

Grillby's smirk became smirkier.

Jamie clenched their fist and managed to swallow.

'It was...about...me doing something...he didn't like.'

Despite the situation, Jamie didn't really want to tell Grillby about what it was exactly they had done. As far as Jamie knew, Grillby didn't know about timelines or AUs, let alone that Jamie had been the cause of death for hundreds of monsters across the multiverse. 

They glanced at Lust. Lust, almost imperceptibly, shook his skull. Jamie looked back at Grillby.

'I...got mud on his parka. Like, his brand new, expensive parka. He was really pissed.'

Grillby, for a second, looked skeptical. But then he nodded.

'Well...honestly I wouldn't be overjoyed with someone who did that. But still...slight over-reaction, don't you think?'

'That's what I said! He didn't take me talking back to him too well...' Jamie shot a glance at Lust. Lust was smiling slightly. Clearly the two of them both agreed that Grillby shouldn't know yet.

'But you say they probably won't be there?'

'Yeah. It'll be fine.' Jamie smiled reassuringly.

Their smile twisted slightly as the chilli powder began to climb back up their throat.

'Gentlemen, please excuse me.'

Jamie hastily stood up, and without another word, walked hastily out of the room, up the stairs, through Pole's room, into the bathroom, and with great ceremony, expelled the chilli-covered abomination from their body once and for all.

In other words, they ran off and threw up.

~

Grillby didn't really know how to feel.

Everyone was indeed nice, and they all seemed very welcoming.

But...they all looked so much like Sans and Papyrus, or Lust and Pole, as everyone called them. Being here, seeing all of these...'clones', for lack of a better word, made Grillby realise why they used these codenames.

And...how had they all known about him and Sans/Lust?

As if he had read his mind, Ink came over, and began talking about the karaoke night. He said something like his television was linked to all of the AUs, and he could watch any channel from any of them. Grillby didn't really understand how, but he supposed it was pretty cool that Ink could get television channels from all over the place.

What irked him a little was that Mettaton had deliberately panned the camera so it had him and Lust kissing in the shot, for everyone to see.

He wasn't happy that everyone now knew about his and Lust's relationship. He'd never really had a publicly known relationship before. It wasn't a common occurrence where he came from, not with everyone being sex-crazy. He didn't know how people were going to react.

Again, as if reading his mind, Ink patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.

**'hey, i know it's a little scary. but c'mon, you'll be fine. i mean, after jamies singing, i don't think anyone's gonna knock you for having a boyfriend.'**

Grillby smiled.

'Thank you, Ink. That...honestly is nice to hear.'

Wow. First Jamie, then Ink. Grillby had never expected two people to give him relationship advice within the first day of meeting them. It felt good.

And then there was a knock on the door.

~

The babble of conversation instantly stopped, like someone had pressed pause on a film.

**'i...didn't invite anyone else here...'**

Jamie, who had been catching up with Blueberry, took a step back. The stick was on top of a small coffee table, and their eyes flickered over to it.

If Edge came inside with half of the mood of before, they'd need that stick.

Ink put his cup down, and slowly advanced towards the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND CLIFFHANGER!
> 
> Again, I'm really sorry about the massive wait. I hope this kinda makes up for it.  
> I know cliffhangers kinda suck, but I'm planning something.
> 
> Wait and see... ;-)


	10. Breaking Into The Fortress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we left it on a cliffhanger last time, now to find out...
> 
> WHO!!!!!  
> IS!!!!!  
> BEHIND!!!!  
> THE!!!!!  
> DOOR!!!!  
> WOO!!!!
> 
> (insert dramatic music here)

Ink gripped the door handle.

Jamie's fingers brushed the handle of the stick. Their grip on their glass tightened.

Ink gave a nod to the group, all of whom were staring at the door with rapt attention, and pulled it open.

_'Hello again.'_

Dr Alphys stood in the doorway, her lab coat fluttering slightly in a breeze which had come up out of nowhere.

Ink seemed to relax, but then his posture solidified.

**'dr alphys. to what do i owe the pleasure?'**

Dr Alphys waved a hand.

 _'Please, let's not bother with needless pleasantries. Besides, I know I'm not exactly welcome here, so I'll make this quick.'_ She made a vague gesture in the direction of the house.  _'Could I see the human?'_

Jamie felt a slight chill. 

How had she gotten here? They thought the doors could only be accessed by those who had been touched by magic a Sans could wield. 

Ink opened his mouth to speak, but Alphys held up a finger.

_'Just so you know, that wasn't a request.'_

'oh really? and why should we listen to your request?'

Lust was gripping his glass rather tightly. Jamie glanced over at him. Lust's gaze was dead set on Alphys. Grillby, who was hovering a distance away, was looking at Lust with surprise.

A small smile crept over Alphys' lips.

_'Because...if you don't...I'll have to inform the Royal Guard that Edge is a thief.'_

Something inside Jamie definitely turned to ice.

'Y-you...'

Alphys snapped her head towards Jamie. Jamie took a step back.

 _'I have not yet informed them, no. As ridiculous as your claims about the multiverse being in mortal peril are, you clearly believe in them enough to threaten my girlfriend and steal from my workplace. That...I can admire.'_ The smile twisted. It looked more like a snarl, now.  _'But, if I do not have my due rights in this *voyage*, especially concerning the nature of the human, then I shall use my influence to ensure that your precious Edge suffers a fate worse than death. Unless...'_ Alphys raised a clawed finger to her mouth, posing rather like a shy schoolgirl. Her posture and looks clashed to make something that felt hideous. Alphys made a voice that sounded like an anime girl.

 _'Unless, of course, he isn't your FRIEND anymore...in which case, I'll just HAVE to...'_ She raised a hand to her forehead, like a swooning actress. Jamie felt sick.

_'PUNISH him...'_

**'edge...is our friend, yes.'**

Ink shot Jamie a look. Jamie nodded.

Edge had only stormed off because of what they had done. If he was in trouble, it was Jamie's fault. Therefore, it would be Jamie's responsibility to ensure he came to no harm that they could prevent.

'So why are you here, Alphys?'

Alphys snapped out of her sickening pose and swept past Ink into the house. 

 _'I'm only here for a checkup.'_ She seized Jamie's left arm, and before Jamie could cry out she had plunged a needle into the hole-shaped scar.

It felt like Jamie's arm was a balloon, and the needle was filling it with acid. Jamie's fingers curled, and they gritted their teeth. They wanted to cry out, but that would tell Alphys she was succeeding.

_'That's right. Be strong. It's nearly over. Ignore the pain.'_

Was...she mocking them?

Alphys and Jamie locked eyes. Jamie saw, for the first time, the eyes that were truly behind the glasses.

She was angry.

She was sorry.

She was scared.

She was enjoying this.

She hated this.

She...hated herself.

And suddenly Jamie didn't hate her anymore.

And then the needle was out, and a bandage had been wrapped around the hole.

_'Alright...that should be enough.'_

**'what...did you do?'**

Alphys turned to Ink. The kaleidoscope of emotions had crystallised back into cold professionalism.

_'I gave the human some of the DETERMINATION extracted from fellow humans. I wish to see how it affects them.'_

Somewhere, a glass shattered.

'YOU...ARE EXPERIMENTING ON THEM?'

_'Of course. That's what scientists do, after all.'_

** 'DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT'LL DO?' **

_'None at all. I do not often get the chance, seeing as how I get most of my SOULS without a body. This will be my first Cross-Human-SOUL-Translation.'_

Jamie looked down at their arm. The veins beneath the skin were red, and bulged outwards. It felt like there were tentacles inside their body.

'alright. you've done what you came here for. get out'

Jamie looked over at Lust, who now had broken glass at his feet. He was giving Alphys a look that visibly unsettled her.

_'*ahem* Do not fear, Underlust Sans, I was just leaving. Although...'_

She had begun walking towards the door as she spoke, but she halted just in the doorframe.

_'I would like to remind you, human, and all of you, that the deal still stands. I'm watching you. Be sure you do not break your word.'_

She gave a slight, mocking curtsy (which was actually rather remarkable, considering she was wearing a lab coat) and stepped out of the house, shutting the door behind her.

~

'does it still hurt if i do this?'

Jamie felt the pain lance through their arm and hissed.

'...Yeah...I think it's getting better.'

'i haven't touched it yet.'

'...Oh...'

Lust pressed down on their arm with a single phalange. Instead of an appendage touching their skin, Jamie thought it was a molten rod of iron.

'AH!!...Shit, that's sore...'

Lust hastily removed the finger and looked at Jamie worriedly.

'it's getting worse, jamie. shit, i don't know what to do.'

Jamie, despite themselves, gave Lust a reassuring smile.

'Hey...it's DETERMINATION, right? It can't hurt humans the same way it hurts monsters. I'll be fine in the end, don't-' An ache pulsed through and Jamie made a slight grimace. '-worry about it.'

Lust's expression seemed to crumble. Suddenly, he looked like he was on the verge of tears.

'Lust, seriously! I'll be fine!'

'why do you always get hurt, jamie?'

Jamie's voice caught in their throat.

THEY always get hurt? What about Lust, trying to mutilate himself like that and trapped in a world where rape was common?! 

'Lust...you've suffered WAY worse than I-'

'i've never been tortured. i've never been turned into a pawn by a psycho like alphys. i've never had someone try to kill me.'

Jamie and Lust locked eyes. 

Lust's eyelights had a slight purple tinge to them. If Jamie didn't know better, they would have thought they were lasers: sharp lights that took a lot to make. If Jamie looked past the lights, into the dark space, they could almost see the pain.

Jamie's eyes were bright. So much life inside them. Lust honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd looked into eyes like that: even his brother's light was faded.

'Lust...why did you do that to yourself?'

Lust's eyelights flickered. Jamie glimpsed the glowing form of Grillby out the corner of their eye. He was leaning closer.

Lust glanced over at Grillby too, before letting out a sigh.

 'do...do you remember what edge called me? the night he left?'

Jamie thought back. As far as they remembered they had just been hurled through a fence, but they did recall glimpsing Lust grabbing Edge and tackling him to the ground.

What was it they'd heard?

_'(why don't you crawl back to your hole and fuck a pillow, you slut?')_

Jamie's eyes widened.

'It...was that?'

Lust hesitated, and then nodded.

'..yeah...'

'How come that got to you so badly?'

Lust sighed.

'...underlust, as an au, is made to satisy lust. i know that people can observe all our universes, like how you controlled all those other worlds to destroy them.' Lust gave Jamie a crooked smile.

'so, i know you probably...observed us, too.'

Jamie blushed.

'i'm not judging or anything, kid. it's just...well...'

Lust's smile slipped. He suddenly looked very frail.

'What is it, Sans?'

'i don't want to be an object of sex anymore.'

And then his voice cracked. Lust's eyesockets filled with tears, and Jamie, forgetting their arm, leaned over and wrapped them in the tightest hug they could muster.

There was a crackling noise and then two warm arms held the two of them. Grillby's face was between the two of them, flames warm and gentle.

'Sans...why didn't you tell me?'

Lust chuckled softly through his tears.

'honestly, grillbz, there's a lot i don't tell you.' He sniffed. 'there's a lot every sans doesn't tell the people they love. even their brothers.' He tilted his skull forward and rested his forehead in the curve of Grillby's neck.

'Will...you tell me eventually?'

'...maybe...'

'That's good enough for me.'

Grillby's hug tightened comfortingly, and he nuzzled Lust's forehead with his cheek. Jamie, in turn, tightened their own hug around Lust.

'what did i do to deserve you guys?'

'What did I do to deserve you guys? I'm the worst of us all, don't forget.'

Lust snorted.

'fine...i won't push the point home.'

'Good. Now sit here and let your boyfriend and I hug you because you're sad.'

'ok.'

~

A little later, Lust, Pole and Grillby decided to head home. The rest of the Sanses and Papyruses followed suit soon after. When Blueberry waved his last goodbye before dragging his brother out of the door, it was only Jamie and Ink left.

**'how's your arm, kid?'**

Jamie looked down at the bandage. The feeling of tentacles was still there, but it was much less, and the searing pain had dulled.

'It's fine.' Jamie looked at Ink.

There was something they needed to know.

'Has...this happened to any human before?'

Ink thought.

**'honestly?'**

That wasn't the most encouraging start. Jamie nodded.

'Please, I...'

Jamie swallowed. Their throat felt dry.

'I'm...a little scared.'

Ink got up. He was by their side in a swish of cloth and touched Jamie's arm reassuringly.

**'i don't know of any human that has experienced this before. but...i don't think anything bad will come of it.'**

'Really?'

Jamie felt a rising sensation. But only if it was true.

**'really. i mean, think about it. every human has DETERMINATION in them, so a little more can hardly hurt. your bodies are built to support SOULs with DETERMINATION. monsters can't handle too much DETERMINATION because their bodies aren't used to supporting it.'**

He squeezed Jamie's shoulder. Jamie saw the genuine, warm smile on his skull.

**'you'll be fine, jamie. i promise.'**

Jamie put a hand on Ink's and squeezed.

'Thanks, Ink.'

~

** Blueberry sat at the table, fiddling with his food. He'd spent the last half an hour cooking, but he could freely admit that that had just been a distraction. **

** Carrot looked at him across the table. **

** 'YOU OKAY, BRO?' **

** Blueberry looked up sheepishly. **

** 'y-yes! i, er...put too much salt in.' **

** 'YOU HAVEN'T EATEN A BIT OF IT. LITERALLY.' **

** Damn. **

** 'i'm, er...not hungry.' **

** 'YOU HAVEN'T EATEN ALL DAY, BRO.' **

** 'yes i have, brother! you just haven't...seen what i ate.' **

** 'TELL ME, THEN.' **

** Ah. Right. **

** Blueberry was NOT good at telling lies. Not that he was ashamed of that, but it could have been useful in this situation. **

** He cast about. What HAD he eaten today? **

** 'i had a hotdog at ink's!' **

** Well, it wasn't a LIE. He had had his EYESOCKET on one and just hadn't physically picked it up. **

** Carrot raised an 'eyebrow', but leaned back in his chair. **

** 'FINE. SUIT YOURSELF.' **

** Blueberry nodded. He was much more relieved than he let on. **

** To give himself something to do, he pointed at Carrot's plate (which was spotless). **

** 'are you done?' **

** 'YEAH. IT WAS DELICIOUS.' **

** 'i am very glad to hear tha-hey! don't try to guilt me now.' **

** 'SORRY BRO-IT'S A GUILTY PLEASURE OF MINE.' **

** Blueberry shook his skull, picking up the plates and hurling them, frisbee-style, into the sink. They landed neatly on top of each other with a delicate tinkle. **

** 'YOU KNOW...IF SOMETHING'S BOTHERING YOU...' **

** Blueberry sighed. **

** 'i know, brother. i know.' **

** He turned to face Carrot. **

** 'do you...do you know how to...ask someone if they like you? **

** Carrot seemed to stiffen. **

** 'YOU MEAN...HOW TO SPEAK? I MEAN, I'M NO EXPERT, BUT I'M FAIRLY SURE YOU'VE BEEN SPEAKING MOST OF YOUR LIFE, BRO.' **

** Blueberry made a sound between an awkward laugh and a huff. **

** 'i know how to TALK, brother. what i mean is...well...' **

** He twiddled his thumbs. **

** 'i...i think...' **

** He swallowed. **

** 'i think i like pole.' **

** Carrot's features twitched. **

** Blueberry's skull split into a grin. **

** 'ah-HA! i KNEW you'd get jealous! you DO like him!' **

** Carrot froze. **

** 'HEH...WELL...' **

** He rubbed the back of his skull. **

** 'I, ER...GUESS YOU'RE RIGHT.' **

** 'of course! it's been clear for ages!' **

** Blueberry had subconsciously struck his action pose, but now he lowered his hand from the sky and put it in his other hand. He shuffled his feet. **

** 'but...you haven't acted on it. at all.' **

** Carrot looked away. **

** 'I...I GUESS I'M NOT GOOD AT TELLING PEOPLE I LIKE THEM.' **

** 'how do you tell me?' **

** Carrot looked back, confused. **

** 'I...I SAY 'I LOVE YOU'.' **

** 'there you go! just tell him!' **

** Carrot blushed, his cheekbones flushing a deep orange. **

**'IT'S NOT...THAT EASY, BRO.'**  

**Blueberry felt his smile quiver.**

**His brother wasn't wrong. It wasn't easy to tell someone you had feelings for them, and he knew that firsthand. But that wasn't going to stop him.**

**'well then, i guess i'll just have to help you.'**

**He grabbed Carrot's sleeve, and began to drag him over to the door.**

**He had just reached the door when there was a knock.**

****_'h-hey...g-guys?'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shet em sorry this took so long to make-I would say it's because school started again but honestly I've just been lazy. I am seriously sorry-I'll try to stay on track with the rest of the chapters.


	11. Checkpoint

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOW!
> 
> We're about to get into the violence part (if we hadn't already) so just a warning: it's gonna get more intense here, but hopefully it's also going to get lighter.
> 
> Shall we call it the calm before the storm?

**'SO WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE, EDGE?'**

_Edge sat on the couch, a mug of coffee in his hands. Blueberry sat on his left, Carrot on his right. Both were looking at him with concern._

_Edge huffed._

_'can't a guy drop in to say hi?'_

** 'they can...but usually a guy isn't you.' **

_Edge barked a sound that was like a laugh. It wasn't hard to tell there was no humour behind it. He looked down into his coffee._

**'SO, AS I SAID, WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE?'**

_Edge kept his gaze fixated into the mug._

** 'edge...' **

_'is it any of ya' business?'_

_Edge bared his teeth, but didn't lift his gaze._

_Carrot sighed._

** 'FINE. IF YA DON'T WANT TO TALK, THAT'S FINE BY ME. PROBABLY SOMETHING DEPRESSING ANYWAY.' **

_Something hot spiked through Edge._

_'oh yeah? well, i guess if your brother, the only person you care for, beats you up and constantly calls you a traitor, then yeah, it's sumthin depressing!'_

_He hadn't noticed himself looking up into Carrot's face._

_The face that was almost an exact copy of his brother's. The face that was nothing like his brother's._

_Stars, Edge wanted to punch him. That was none of his business. The urge grew when he saw those features shift into concern, but when he felt two sets of arms wrap around him it melted away. Hot tears replaced it instead._

_'ah, fuckin hell...every time i see you guys i end up cryin,...'_

_Carrot_ ** 'Ssshhh' ** _d him, and Blueberry tightened his grip._

** 'edge...we all know stuff's bad with you two. do you want to maybe spend the night here?' **

_Edge sniffed._

_'nah, i snuck out while b-boss went to sleep. i'd better g-get back soon.'_

_He shifted, signalling to the two of them that they could stop hugging him now. At the motion, they reluctantly drew back._

_'but...thanks. i...'_

_There was something in his throat. It felt like the rope again._

_'...i missed you guys. i missed all of you.'_

_Carrot and Blueberry smiled sadly._

** 'WE'VE ALL MISSED YOU TOO, EDGE.' **

** 'especially jamie! they've been asking ink if they can come and see you!' **

_Edge froze._

_Jamie._

_That kid._

_They...wanted to see him? Why?_

_He didn't know how he felt about that. He HAD missed them, missed their laughter, missed their voice. The feeling of their arms._

_But...they were a killer. They were the killer that Edge had been after all along._

_Blueberry had put his hand over his mouth, his eyelights shrunken to pinpricks. Carrot was looking at Edge with a strange expression._

** 'i...i am so sorry, edge. i forgot you and jamie weren't...on good terms.' **

_This time, Edge's laugh did have a bit of humour in it. He gave Blueberry a mock glower._

_'yeah, you better be sorry.'_

_He meant it as a joke, meant it to dismiss Blueberry's worry. When Blueberry's eyelights somehow constricted further, he hastily waved his hands._

_'no no, it's fi-oh shit.'_

_Coffee had gone over everything. Edge had forgotten about it._

**'o-oh, i got that!'**

_Blueberry's eye glowed blue. He waved a hand, and the coffee, wrapped in blue light, spiralled upwards, and Blueberry hurled it over into the sink._ **  
**

_Edge felt a heat in his cheekbones._

_'s-sorry 'bout that.'_

** 'NO PROBLEM. YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE HOW MESSY THIS FLOOR WOULD BE WITHOUT THAT LITTLE TRICK.' **

_Blueberry shot Carrot a look. Edge snorted. This time it was genuinely from him finding it funny._

_'heh...thanks guys.'_

_He thought._

_'and...no worries, bluebs. it's...it's nice to hear jamie's been missin' me.'_

~

'What do you guys think?'

Sans, Papyrus, Ink, Pole and Lust stared.

Jamie was wearing black, with a scabbard on their hip. Inside the scabbard was a stick with a smooth handle.

It was an actual SCABBARD. The kind Sans had seen members of the Royal Guard wear.

It looked...pretty good on Jamie. They looked much more battle-ready now, at least.

'you...look pretty cool, kid.'

Papyrus made an excited squeak.

'OH HUMAN! YOU LOOK LIKE A ROYAL GUARD!'

Jamie blushed.

'Thanks, Papyrus.'

'IF YOU DON'T MIND ME ASKING...WHY?'

Jamie smiled bashfully.

'Well...y'know, we're a team, and...well, I thought I should at least look the part. In case, y'know, we get into a fight or something...'

Their voice had gotten quieter and quieter as they spoke, but Sans could see the logic. And they DID look pretty dashing...but why a stick? Why not a sword?

**'is the stick your mystical weapon?'**

Ink grinned. Jamie gave a sarcastic laugh before smiling back.

'I guess so...well, I mean, it holds well, and it has a nice swing to i-'

As Jamie had spoken, they had drawn out the stick, which had a lovely spiral pattern running from the base of the 'blade' all the way to the tip, and at the word 'swing' they had done just that.

And the stick had glowed. A bright red light had shone out from the cut, and a shimmering trail was left as it sliced through the air.

Jamie put a hand over their mouth. Sans' SOUL pounded as he felt the power from the weapon hammer through the air.

Holy shit. What the HELL?!

'that...that was...'

**'i didn't know you had determination that strong, jamie.'**

Jamie looked at Ink, fear in their eyes.

'I-I didn't...how...WHAT?!'

They were now looking at the stick like it was going to explode.

And then it hit them. Ink said it first.

**'it...it must be the DETERMINATION alphys gave you...'**

Jamie's eyes flickered down to their arm.

**'can...can you try that again? but try to make it happen yourself?'**

'I...I don't want to hurt any of you...'

Instantly, a wall of bones was between Jamie and the skeletons.

**'welp, now you don't have to worry about that. go on, try it!'**

Jamie sighed. And then they giggled slightly.

'what is it?'

'I just...I didn't think I was holding a magic stick all this time.'

And they slashed.

Instead of red, an arc of orange light shot from the blade, carving a furrow into the ground where it struck.

Jamie laughed, a slightly hysterical sound that Sans could tell came from both shock and delight. It was actually kinda nice to hear. He smiled too.

'wow kid. looks like you got more than determination in that thing.'

Jamie looked at them.

'I...didn't know...this is kinda amazing!'

~

** Blueberry didn't know quite what to think when he and Carrot stepped through the doorway and saw Ink's meadow almost completely upturned. **

** There were huge, deep gashes in the ground. It looked like something had ploughed into it at top speed. **

** Blueberry followed the path of the gashes. They all came from roughly the same spot... **

** 'oh my...jamie?' **

** Jamie waved. They were holding a glowing orange stick, and they were smiling widely. **

** 'what...is...this?' **

** Blueberry looked at the carnage, and then back to Jamie. **

** 'you did this?' **

** Jamie nodded, still smiling, and then the smile slipped. **

'Oh god...I...may have gotten a bit carried away.'

'a little is an understatement.'

**Blueberry looked over at Ink's cottage. In the window, he could make out Lust, Ink and Papyrus. All of them looked both nervous and excited.**

'you kinda turned the ground into a training dummy, jamie.'

** Jamie laughed nervously. **

'Sorry, Ink.'

**'no problem!'**

**Ink clapped his hands, and the ground rippled, the torn grass and clumps of earth melting back together. A few seconds later, the ground was immaculately smooth once again.**

'THAT...WAS PRETTY COOL.'

** Blueberry stared at the ground. Exactly how powerful WAS Ink? **

** 'OH! JUST TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW, EDGE SAYS HI.' **

** There was a blur and then Jamie was at Carrot's side. **

'Edge! You mean, you spoke to him?! How is he?! What's going on?!'

** Blueberry took hold of Jamie's arms and pulled them back a step. Carrot looked in danger of falling over. **

** Jamie coughed with authority and tried again. **

'I mean...wow, you guys saw him? Mind me asking how he is?'

  **'HE'S...HE'S NOT BAD. HE MISSES US, TOO.'**

** Blueberry saw Jamie's lips twitch, as if they had caught themselves about to say something else. **

** He had an idea what it would be. But he didn't want to answer, in case it made Jamie feel worse. **

'Is...is it...at all possible to see him?'

** Blueberry thought. At this point, it was probably best if Edge saw people on his terms. **

** 'sorry, jamie. i wish we could, but...well...at this point, it might be better if edge decides who he sees. i mean, imagine if someone who you just broke up with showed up at your door?' **

** Not the best example perhaps, but Jamie smiled sadly and nodded. **

'Ah...no, that makes sense.'  **They perked up.** 'Oh, in that case, if you see him again, could you pass on a message for me?'

~

~~So...this was what was happening. They'd tried to form an alliance, and it had splintered, all because of one child.~~

~~Remarkable, the power of emotion.~~

~~Error watched as the child shook the hands of Underswap Sans and Underswap Papyrus. Something had been agreed.~~

~~Maybe Error should talk to the person it concerned?~~

~

Jamie was anxious in the time it took for them to see Blueberry and Carrot again. They hoped Edge wouldn't react badly, but at the same time, they wanted to let Edge know they were sorry, which they couldn't really do without getting in touch with him somehow.

While they waited, they channelled their nervous energy into figuring out how to control their newfound weapon.

It seemed to be more or less under their control. The one problem was that Jamie couldn't practice while at home, so they had to make lots of excuses as to why they spent so much time either up in their room or outside the house. The one they mainly settled on was work, but they occasionally threw in a 'going to see friends' or a 'going for a walk'. In that case, the only difficulty was ensuring they were out of sight before they teleported to Ink's house.

The main focus of Jamie's training now, was trying to see if they could lower and heighten the power of the weapon. The activation and usage they had down to a tee, but the fine-tuning needed work.

Jamie didn't want to only be able to rip up the ground. If necessary (not that it would be, as the group's potential need for battle had evaporated), Jamie wanted to be able to pierce metal, or to be able to make a fancy lightshow. 

So they spent their time at Ink's trying out different techniques. They found that, at least for now, the blades of orange light would increase or decrease in strength depending on Jamie's motivation. If Jamie didn't really put effort, didn't really WANT, to break something, then the blades would usually dissipate as soon as they made contact with the object. On the other hand, if Jamie wanted it to be cut in half, then cut in half it would be. It was pretty straightforward, as using a mystical weapon Jamie had been given by a flying dog could be.

Eventually, after what felt like an age, Blueberry came through the door.

** 'jamie!' **

Jamie whipped around. A small flash of light came from the stick.

'H-hi, Blueberry! Dare I ask if...Edge has a reply?'

** 'he does indeed!' **

Blueberry grinned. 

** 'he says he accepts your apology!' **

Jamie grinned, their heart lightening.

'Oh! Oh, that's awesome to hear!'

They leant forwards.

'Is...there anything else?'

** 'nope! it's that, plain and simple!' **

So...Edge accepted their apology...and wasn't going to apologise for trying to kill them?

Well...Jamie supposed that was okay. He HADN'T killed them, and he wasn't still trying to.

'So...is he okay...if we go see him?'

~

_'SANS! ANYTHING TO REPORT?'_

_Edge shrugged._

_'nah, boss. everything's hunky-dory.'_

_'HAH! WELL, THAT IS GOOD. AND I MUST SAY, THE STANDARD OF YOUR WORK HAS DEFINITELY IMPROVED LATELY. I SEE SEPARATING FROM THOSE FOOLS WAS A GOOD IDEA.'_

_Edge had an urge to tell his brother that 'those fools' were the reason he was trying hard, but bit it down. His brother was in a good mood, and he did NOT want to spoil it._

_Not tonight._

_What was the advice Blueberry had given, again?_

_'yeah, boss. it was...not the best idea i'd ever had.'_

_'NO, IT WASN'T. I HOPE YOU'VE LEARNT YOUR LESSON.'_

_'yup. don't worry, i know what i'm doin' now.'_

_Edge smiled to cover up the fact that he most certainly did NOT know what he was doing._

_'hey, boss?'_

_'WHAT?'_

_'i was gonna ask if we could patrol the town tonight. y'know, just to make doubly sure.'_

_'ARE...YOU DOUBTING MY EFFICIENCY?'_

_'not at all, boss. but...you did only really survey the way into waterfall...'_

_For a second, Edge was a little worried that Boss would get annoyed at his remark, but luckily Boss seemed to agree._

_'FINE. BUT THERE HAD BETTER BE SOMETHING INTERESTING HAPPENING.'_

_Oh, there was going to be something interesting all right._

_Shit, Edge was scared._

~

~~Underfell Sans led Underfell Papyrus out of the house and headed towards the other side of town.~~

~~Clever.~~

~

** 'well...we're here now...' **

Jamie grasped the stick tightly. The last time they had been in Edge's world they had been experimented on by a mad scientist.

Speaking of Alphys, Jamie wasn't entirely sure they weren't being watched by her. She knew a lot more than she let on, after all. 

Well...if she was, then they just had to make sure they didn't get in Undyne's way. That should be easy enough.

Blueberry tapped Jamie's shoulder.

** 'jamie...we need to be careful here. humans aren't exactly held in high regard here.' **

Jamie nodded.

'Oh trust me, I know. That's why I have this.'

Jamie waved the stick. Blueberry nodded, smiling crookedly.

** 'i really don't know how i feel about you waving that around.' **

Jamie laughed.

'I won't wave it at you, don't worry.'

Blueberry chuckled, and pointed ahead.

** 'okay, we're in snowdin. i think most people are inside at the moment...' **

He trailed off as both he and Jamie spotted two retreating forms.

'Oh! There he is! But...'

** 'that's his brother, boss. he's...not very sociable.' **

Well...Jamie had met the rest of the Sanses and Papyruses without a hitch. Why not this time?

Jamie made a move to start catching up to them, but halted when they saw Edge take a hold of Boss' hand.

~

_'S-SANS! WHAT...'_

_His voice dropped to a hiss, and he leaned in dangerously close to Edge's face._

_Edge's SOUL pounded, but he maintained his calm look and looked into his brother's eyes._

_'you're my bro, bro. can't i show that i love my bro?'_

_The expression that crossed Boss' face gave Edge a chill. It was a look he'd only seen once before, when his brother had first met Undyne._

_It was the look you give someone when confronted with a truth you wished you didn't like._

_Emotions like love and compassion were weak ones. They left you open. If you were weak, then you died._

_But fucking hell, Edge hated that._

_'WE'VE...TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, SANS...'_

_His brother's voice quivered slightly, but the warning was tangible._

_Edge was REALLY pushing his luck. Why not push it a little more?_

_He put his hands up and wrapped them around his brother's waist, pulling him into an embrace he'd been wanting to pull him into for years._

_For a moment, his brother did nothing._

_And then, his hands seized Edge's shoulders, and then he was down on the ground._

_Bones materialized around him, the sharp tips aimed for him._

_A wind picked up. Edge felt the tears on his cheekbones._

_'I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO THAT.'_

_The bones shot towards Edge, and then there was a flash of green light, and they were gone._

_Edge stared at the figure who stood between him and his brother, a glowing green sword clasped in their hand._

~

Jamie and Boss locked eyes.

The weapon in Jamie's hands pulsed like a heartbeat.

'...pro-tect...pro-tect...pro-tect...'

_'...jamie...?'_

Edge's voice was a croaky whisper. Jamie, a strange calm going through them, turned their head.

'I'm here, Edge.' They smiled.

They turned back to Boss.

_'...YOU...HAVE...BEEN ALLYING WITH...HUMANS?'_

The question was meant for Edge, but Boss didn't take his eyesockets off Jamie. Jamie shrugged.

'Not really. He tried to kill me twice.'

The heartbeat in Jamie's hand quickened.

Boss' mouth twitched.

Jamie let out a breath.

They took their foot off the ground and stepped forwards, twisting their body slightly to the side to avoid the bone spear that shot at them and then they pushed downwards, feet leaving the ground as they leapt over the wall of bones that sprung up from beneath them, tucking their body inwards they somersaulted, feeling the slight ripples in the air as the bones all around them stabbed towards them, barely missing them, and then the ground hit their feet and they rolled, springing up, sword flashing green, green glowing ribbons left all around them as they spun and ducked and parried and slashed and they spun once more and the sword struck another sword and Jamie looked up dead into Boss' eyes.

They pressed their weapons against each other. 

Boss' cheekbones were also splashed with tears, but there was no mistaking that murderous look.

Jamie smiled, and splayed a hand.

An orange shockwave blasted outwards and Boss stumbled, the pressure on Jamie's sword evaporating. 

Jamie pushed forwards, Boss stumbling back further, and then aimed a kick squarely into Boss' ribs.

There was a crunch.

Boss toppled backwards, the bone sword dissipating, splayed on the ground.

 


	12. Plot Twist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O...KAY...  
> THIS HAS TAKEN WAY TOO LONG TO BE MADE AND I AM SO SORRY.  
> Okay, so Jamie now has a magic stick and beat up Edge's brother. This is going SUPER.  
> enjoy the delayed response XD

_Edge stared._

**Blueberry stared.**

Jamie looked down at Boss' crumpled form. His ribcage rose and fell, but each fall was stuttered. His ribs had a footprint on them.

And then it kind of hit them. A cold washed over them, the weapon slipping from their fingers. They put a hand over their mouth, and then they were by Boss' side.

'H-Hey! Um...Underfell Papyrus! C-can you hear me?'

Shit.

What had they done? 

There was a movement beside them and Blueberry was kneeling down, running his phalanges down Boss' ribs.

**'no fractures. but you knocked the energy out of him, that's for sure.'**

Boss groaned. 

Jamie's heart was pounding. They...hadn't actually meant any of that. 

They'd just...done it.

They looked over at the stick. It lay there, just a stick. No light, no heartbeat.

_'what...'_

Jamie started. They whipped around.

Edge was looking at them with something that Jamie couldn't quite decode. Fear? Anger? Disbelief?

_'...what the fuck, man? i HAD that.'_

For a second, Jamie just stared.

'...sorry...'

And then they both burst into laughter.

It was the kind of laughter you share when everything seems uncertain. It was the laughter that gave you something to hold onto.

Edge's eyes looked wide. His eyelights were uncertain. Through his laughs, Jamie saw those all-too familiar tears begin to return.

_'...haha...ya...ya just beat up my bro...'_

Jamie's laughs became more hollow.

Yes, they had. If Edge was about to attack them they wouldn't blame him.

'...Do...you want to get him home?'

_'...yeah...that' be best...'_

~

Once the door closed behind them, a red aura wrapped itself around Boss' body. Blueberry and Jamie, who had been carrying Boss, stepped back, leaving him suspended in mid-air.

_'you guys don't worry. i...i think i know what to do now.'_

Edge gave a gruff smile. He curled his fingers slightly, and Boss began to float upwards towards the landing.

_'you guys may not want to be here when he gets up. and he'll get up soon...'_

They didn't need telling twice.

'See you around, Edge. It...sucks this is how we met up, eh?'

Edge snorted.

_'yeah...oh well. next time.'_

'Sure!'

~

 _Papyrus sat on his bed, massaging his ribs._ _That had been a tough kick. Whoever that human had been...James or something...they could fight._

_'SSS...SSSA...'_

_Shit. His ribs stung with each attempt at speech, and it was barely louder than a whisper. Papyrus cursed, and then the door swung open._

_'bro?'_

_Concern. Guilt. Fear. All those fucking feelings Papyrus hated to love to see._

_'...D...DON'T...LOOK AT ME...LIKE THAT...'_

_Not the best way to put it perhaps, but it was what he wanted. If anyone had seen them hugging, seen them in that warm, almost completely forgotten embrace..._

_It wasn't something he could afford._

_Papyrus wheezed, and sharply beckoned Sans over. Sans hesitated, but shuffled over._

_'...YOU...WANT...BE WITH THEM...?'_

_Fucking hell this was annoying. Reduced to clipped sentences that made him sound stupid. Thankfully, Sans seemed to get the message._

_'yeah, bro...and i want you there, too.'_

_'...FFF...FFLIRTING NOW?'_

_Sans chuckled softly._

_'nah...im just sayin what i feel. i love ya, and i want ya with us. we may not have a calling anymore, but we can at least be friends.'_

_'FFRIENDS...FAIL YOU...'_

_'mine didn't. if they hadn't been there...' Sans gulped._

_'would you have dusted me, bro?'_

_That was something Papyrus didn't have an answer to. In that moment...he hadn't known what he'd wanted to do._

_'...FINE. GO TO THEM.'_

_Sans lowered his head._

_'but...'_

_'...BUT I DON'T WANT YOU TO COME BACK.'_

~

  _Edge gave the house one last look. He'd never noticed the flickering of the Gyftmas lights had such a regular pattern. Guess he'd just gotten used to it._

_He looked over the roof. How much snow was on the top of it? A foot? How did the roof not collapse? It must've been a good build. Someone put their heart and soul into that house to build it._

_And Edge's heart and soul had grown up with him._

_There really were no words to describe the aching void in Edge's ribs. He was leaving behind the only things...only THING...he'd ever loved._

_Was what he was leaving his brother for worth it?_

_Edge wiped his eyesockets. He'd cried a lot in the recent weeks._

_He vowed to not cry again for a long time. That at least he could do. It'd just get boring otherwise._

_He patted the door, and then his phalanges slipped away from the wood. He turned on his heel, and strode off without looking back._

_He wouldn't have been able to bear looking back._

_He walked and walked, each step feeling heavy. But each step felt a little lighter than the last._

_'the crystals always shine again, no matter for how long they stay dark.'_

_He smiled slightly as the old saying echoed in his mind. It was a saying the old monsters had used to keep their spirits up, when they were first cast down into the Underground. He couldn't tihnk of any monsters who had used it except for the old monster in Waterfall, and-_

'HELP!'

_Magic bristled. Edge's eyelight blazed._

_That was Jamie._

_In the distance, there was a flash of light and a muffled bang. Edge didn't know if that was Jamie's doing or not, and he didn't care. He set off at a run._

_And then, something came out of the darkness. Edge skidded, but thrust out a hand. Red light burst, and the thing stumbled._

_The flash illuminated it._

_It was all wrong. At a glance, he would've said it was an insect; a giant one at that-it was at least as tall as him. But then, if you looked slightly closer, you saw its mandibles were actually blades. Its eyes were filled with nothing but destruction._

~~'KiLlLl...'~~

_Welp. No mistaking that._

_Edge snarled, and a flurry of femurs shot past him. The thing (Edge decided on calling it The Bug) twisted itself horribly around them, legs latching onto the cavern wall._

_Edge sent his magic through the rock. A bone, blood red and deadly sharp, stabbed outwards from the wall. Bug had no time to dodge, and it fell from the wall with a horrible shriek. As it fell, Edge gathered power beneath it, and the instant it touched the ground, three more bones stabbed upwards from the floor._

_Somehow, impossibly, the Bug stood atop the bones, balanced perfectly._

_The air stuttered._

_Four sets of claws seized Edge's limbs and he was down, skull slamming into the rock. He yelped, but then he saw the Bug's eyes boring into his._

_Its mandibles opened. Inside its mouth, there was nothing. A void._

'Edge!'

_Heat flared, and then the Bug had released its grip on Edge. Edge sank to the ground, rubbing his skull. Footsteps rang out and then a hand grabbed his shoulder._

'Edge! Can you hear me?!'

_'y-yeah, kid. i hear ya.'_

_A sigh of relief._

'Thank god...Edge, quick! This thing-do you know what it is?'

_'no fucking idea. all i know is they're tough buggers who don't know when to quit.'_

'Well. Guess we'd better make them.'

_In Jamie's hand, the stick pulsed with a light like a sunrise._

'de-fend...de-fend...de-fend...'

_Edge smiled wickedly. Jamie's eyes narrowed._

_The Bug clicked its mandibles and charged._

_Edge clicked his fingers, and Jamie pointed the weapon, and r_ _ed and orange light erupted in the cavern. Edge felt his magic melt, felt it spiral and dance, as it was swept along in a tidal wave of power. Edge felt his being bristle, like electricity running across his bones._

_And then the light faded, and the Bug was gone. Left behind was a flickering pile of-_

'C'mon! We got separated!'

_'wha-'_

_Edge's hand was almost ripped clean as Jamie seized it and took off. Edge nearly tripped, but managed to catch up._

_They rounded the corner. Edge's eyes found the door, and he steered towards it, but then Jamie stopped dead._

'Oh...no...'

_Edge followed his line of sight._

_There, in the light of the doorway, surrounded by a puddle of that creature's essence, was Blueberry. His body was crooked, bent at an unnatural angle._

_His head was facing them. His eyelights..._

_Edge couldn't look at them._

_'c'mon.'_

_Edge wrapped his magic around Blueberry's form, and took hold of Jamie's arm. The doorway opened wide._

_~_

There was a deathly silence in Ink's cottage. Carrot was with Blueberry in a different room, and Ink was pacing feverishly.

**'you say there was a liquid left behind?'**

_'yeah. some kinda stuff. definitely wasn't dust.'_

**'makes sense.'**

Ink halted abruptly. Jamie knew, somehow, what he was going to say.

Ink sighed sadly. An inky black tear ran down his cheekbone.

**'bluebs isn't going to make it.'**

~

_It didn't make sense._

_'wha...whaddaya mean? he aint dusted y-yet.'_

Ink turned. His cheekbones had two perfect lines running down them.

**'his spine has been snapped almost completely in two. he was also laid in that fluid for god-knows-how long.'**

_'but...you guys fixed me when my head was nearly bashed in.'_

**'we had orange then. we do not now. and even if we did, it wouldn't matter. his SOUL has been poisoned.'** _He looked down._

**'...those creatures...the venom they secrete, the substances they are made of...are made to destroy AUs...'**   _A rattling breath._

 **'blueberry will be dust** in-'  _The door behind them opened. Edge turned and saw Carrot._

_He instantly wanted to do something, anything...he wanted to run at Carrot and hug him. He wanted to run into the room and shout Blueberry back to life._

_Because Blueberry was dead. The lively, bubbly, Blueberry he'd unknowingly grown to adore. The one who had kept a grin when no-one else did. The Sans of Underswap._

_Blueberry was dead._

'...EXCUSE ME.'

_No-one made any move to stop him, as Carrot swept past them and out the door._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HA! You tohught this was gon be fun?
> 
> Bish you thought wrong.


	13. Final Corridor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so...it's been a little while. I'm very sorry about that. Stuff has been a little hectic, again. 
> 
> We are approaching the end of this story...I had had an original idea but I'm beginning to re-evaluate it. By the end, I'll have settled on one path or another: hopefully it turns out okay.
> 
> Now...shall we settle this once and for all?

_The kid held the stick in their hands. The same stick they’d used to knock his brother to the ground. The same stick that they wielded like a wand, throwing light everywhere. It wasn’t just a stick, it was a beacon, and a weapon. And right now Jamie was looking at it, and Edge wasn’t sure if they were silently thanking it, or cursing it._

_He heard a sniffle, and looked to see Ink dabbing at his cheekbones with his scarf. His dark tears had left tracks down his skull, making him suddenly look a lot older._

_Broken._

  _It was Edge's fault. If he hadn't just blamed the kid like that...if he'd been more civil to the others...if he'd just stopped being so fucking rude and defensive...if he'd let himself see that these were genuinely nice, good people..._ _if he hadn't been there, then Blueberry wouldn't have had to come with Jamie. And those...things..._

_'what were those things?'_

_Ink sniffed again, and turned to him._

**'...they're called G.01s. but really, they're just expressions of destruction.'**

_'who sent them?'_

_Ink shuddered, and looked away. Edge stood, feeling Jamie swing their gaze onto him at last._

_'ink...tell me who sent them.'_

**'...another sans. his name is error.'**

_'...error?'_

**'yes. he...'** _Ink shuddered again. It looked like he was trying to stop himself from crying again. **'...**_ **he hates the stuff i do. he hates the fact that i keep creating these new universes, new alternate realities. his ''mission'' is to keep the multiverse pure. and...that means destroying stuff i create.'**

_The words hung in the air for a few minutes._

_'so...you...you created blueberry?'_

**'i created all of you. well, all of you except blue, orange, and jamie.'**

_Edge felt something stirring in him. It wasn't anger. It was a bit like hatred, but more...cold?_

_'so...you gave me...a b-brother that h-hated me...and y-you made l-lust live in world ruled by people c-constantly in heat?'_

_The tears were hot. Small wisps of steam rose from Edge's cheekbones._

**'not intentionally. i would never do such things intentionally. but error only sees the results.'**

_Edge turned away. He felt sick. He wanted to hit something. Hard._

'Edge?'

_Edge waved Jamie off. His head was spinning._

**'if he went after us this time, he's going to go after us again.'**

'So...what are you suggesting? Are you saying we're going to go kill him?'

**'not without reason. kill him before he kills us. before he kills countless other sanses and papyruses.'**

_'and to get payback for blueberry.'_

_Okay. He felt a little better now. And...getting payback for a good cause...that sounded like a good idea to Edge._

'Alright.'

**'we cannot bring the others. we've lost too many. edge, you're coming-you're one of our best fighters. jamie, you'll probably be our best defence against him when we're in ERRORTALE.'**

_'sounds good. now lets go turn this fucker to dust.'_

_Ink looked at Jamie, who nodded. He held out his hands, and Edge took hold of one. Jamie took hold of the other._

_-_

_-_

_-_

  ~~Well. Wasn't this all going swimmingly?~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a reason this chapter is much shorter. I'm not just getting lazy I promise.
> 
> I'll try to get the last ones up soon. I'm so sorry about the wait-thank you guys <3


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